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Philip Alexius de László (British painter) 1869 - 1937

Philip Alexius de László was a Hungarian painter known particularly for his portraits of royal and aristocratic personages. In 1900 he married Lucy Guinness of Stillorgan, co. Dublin and became a British citizen in 1914. László was born in humble circumstances in Budapest as Laub Fülöp Elek (Hungarian style with the surname first), the eldest son of Adolf and Johanna Laub, tailor and seamstress. Fülöp and his younger brother Marczi changed their name to László in 1891. He apprenticed at an early age to a photographer while studying art, eventually earning a place at the National Academy of Art, where he studied under Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz. He followed this with studies in Munich and Paris. László's portrait of Pope Leo XIII earned him a Grand Gold Medal at the Paris International Exhibition in 1900. In 1903 László moved from Budapest to Vienna. In 1907 he moved to England and remained based in London for the remainder of his life, although endlessly travelling the world to fulfill commissions. Later life[edit] László's patrons awarded him numerous honours and medals. In 1909 he was named a Member of the Royal Victorian Order by King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. In 1912 he was ennobled by King Franz Joseph of Hungary; his surname then became "László de Lombos", but he soon was using the name "de László". Despite his British citizenship, his marriage and five British sons, de László was interned for over twelve months in 1917 and 1918 during the First World War. He was exonerated and released in June 1919. Due to overwork de László suffered heart problems for the last years of his life. In October 1937 he had a heart attack and died a month later at his home in Hampstead, London. In 1939, the book Portrait of a Painter. The Authorized Life of Philip de László by Owen Rutter, written in conjunction with de László, was published. In 2010 Yale University Press published De László, His Life and Art by Duff Hart-Davis and Dr. Caroline Corbeau-Parsons. His reputation still remains largely as a society portrait painter, but well numbered amongst his sitters were industrialists and scientists, politicians and painters, men and women of letters and many other eminent, as well as ordinary, people. 


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