Portrait of the Viscount Lee of Fareham
- Artist: Philip Alexius de László
- Date: 1921
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the Portrait of the Viscount Lee of Fareham by Philip Alexius de László. The painting, completed in 1921, is an oil on canvas that showcases László’s mastery of light and detail. He captures the Viscount in full-length, seated against a muted, almost velvety backdrop that directs all attention to the sitter’s poised demeanor. The subject’s tailored coat and crisp collar are rendered with exquisite precision, reflecting the early twentieth‑century taste for understated elegance. László’s brushwork is almost impasto in the jacket’s folds, while the smoother areas of the Viscount’s face and hands reveal a subtle control of color that brings out a natural glow. The artist’s use of a restrained palette—soft greens, deep blues, and a touch of gold in the lapel—creates a sense of calm authority. The composition balances the sitter’s strong, upright posture with a slightly turned head, inviting the viewer into a quiet, contemplative moment. In this work, László not only portrays a prominent figure but also embodies the transition of portraiture from the lavish baroque to the more subdued, modern sensibility of the 1920s.
See it in person
Portrait of the Viscount Lee of Fareham hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
