Lot 114
114
PHILIP ALEXIUS DE LÁSZLÓ (BRITISH, 1869-1937)
PHILIP ALEXIUS DE LÁSZLÓ (BRITISH, 1869-1937)
PHILIP ALEXIUS DE LÁSZLÓ (BRITISH, 1869-1937)
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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF WORKS BY DE LÁSZLÓ (LOTS 114-116, 123, 125 & 126)
PHILIP ALEXIUS DE LÁSZLÓ (BRITISH, 1869-1937)

Mrs Winfield Sifton, née Jean Gazlay Donaldson

Details
PHILIP ALEXIUS DE LÁSZLÓ (BRITISH, 1869-1937)
Mrs Winfield Sifton, née Jean Gazlay Donaldson
signed and dated 'P.A. de Laszlo/ LONDON. 1916 May.' (lower right)
oil on canvas
38 ½ x 26 in. (97.8 x 66.1 cm.)
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, New York, c. 1975-76 (untraced).
with Uno Langmann Gallery, Vancouver.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, South Kensington, 8 July 2015, lot 81, where purchased by the present owner.
Literature
De László Archive (DLA) 048-0022, letter from Winfield Sifton to de László, 13 October 1915.
DLA048-0023, letter from Mrs Winfield Sifton to de László, 24 February 1916.
DLA048-0024, letter from Winfield Sifton to de László, 31 May 1916.
The de Laszlo Archive Trust, The Catalogue Raisonné of Works by Philip de László (1869-1937) [online], cat. no. 11227.

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Lot Essay


Jean Gazlay Donaldson was born on 12 March 1893 in Nutley, New Jersey. Known in the press of the 1920s and 1930s as the 'Best Dressed Woman in Europe', she married six times in all, including the Egyptian Prince Mohammed Sabit Bey in 1925, and only a year later she married Paul Dubonnet, of the aperitif wine making family.
This portrait was painted in London, the sitter having travelled there with her Canadian husband Captain Winfield Sifton. He was painted in uniform by de László in March 1916. Sittings took place in May and Sifton was very pleased with the finished portrait: 'I have just arrived home to find your wonderful portrait of Mrs. Sifton here. It really is both a remarkable painting and a remarkable likeness. I am indeed most fortunate to have such a portrait of my wife and wish to tell you how much I appreciate it.'
We are grateful to Katherine Field for writing the catalogue entry for this portrait, which will be included in the Philip de László catalogue raisonné, currently presented in progress online: www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com.

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