The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma

The Family Collection of the late Countess Mountbatten of Burma

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 92. Portrait of Michael Herbert Rudolph Knatchbull-Hugessen, 5th Baron Brabourne (1895-1939), half-length wearing the uniform of the Royal Naval Air Service.

Philip Alexius de László, P.R.B.A.

Portrait of Michael Herbert Rudolph Knatchbull-Hugessen, 5th Baron Brabourne (1895-1939), half-length wearing the uniform of the Royal Naval Air Service

Auction Closed

March 24, 08:41 PM GMT

Estimate

4,000 - 6,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Philip Alexius de László, P.R.B.A.

1869-1937

Portrait of Michael Herbert Rudolph Knatchbull-Hugessen, 5th Baron Brabourne (1895-1939), half-length wearing the uniform of the Royal Naval Air Service


signed and dated lower right: P.A. de László/1914 Nov. 17 and signed by the sitter lower left: Michael K.-Hugessen.

oil on board 

91.5 x 71.5 cm.

Commissioned by the sitter’s father Cecil Marcus Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne.
Sitters’ Book I, f. 100: Michael Knatchbull-Hugessen 18.11. '14;
Catalogue of Portraits, 1920, no. 99;
P. de László, March-July 1936 diary, private collection, 23 June entry, pp. 129-130;
O. Rutter, Portrait of a Painter, London 1939, p. 297.

Michael Knatchbull (later 5th Lord Brabourne) was the son of Cecil, 4th Lord Brabourne and his wife Helena von Brunningen. Born in 1895 he was just 19 when this portrait was painted at the outbreak of the 1st World War. He joined up immediately as his education at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich gave him the necessary military experience and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. He served in the Gallipoli Campaign the following year attached to No. 3 Squadron, Royal Naval Services. He flew flying artillery spotting missions and was promoted to Lieutenant. In September 1915 he was mentioned in Dispatches and awarded the Military Cross. The following year he was seconded to Staff duties as an aide-de-camp until 1918 when he joined the fledgling RAF.


This portrait was painted in 1914 by de László, then at the height of his international fame. Other commissions that year included The King of Greece, Queen Olga of Greece and the former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.


We are grateful to Katherine Field for writing a catalogue entry for this lot which is available upon request. This portrait will be included in the Philip de László catalogue raisonné, currently presented in progress online: www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com