Ailsa Mellon Bruce
1926
Artist, British, born Hungary, 1869 - 1937


NGA, West Building, M-113, S
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 122.2 x 96.6 cm (48 1/8 x 38 1/16 in.)
framed: 142.2 x 116.2 cm (56 x 45 3/4 in.) -
Accession
1970.20.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York;[1] bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1] The painting is entered in the artist's sitters book (vol. II, p. 48, courtesy of Sandra de László, author of the Philip de László catalogue raisonné) as "Ailsa Mellon March 3rd" under the signature of her father, Andrew W. Mellon. This indicates it was at least begun, if not also finished, prior to Ailsa Mellon's marriage to David Bruce on 29 May 1926. It is not known whether the first owner was the sitter's father, or the sitter herself. See also The De Laszlo Archive Trust website, www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com, where the painting is number 6430, and a preparatory drawing, number 5729, is described and illustrated.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1932
An Exhibition of Portraits by P.A. de Laszlo, M.V.O., for the Benefit of the Emergency Unemployment Relief Fund, Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1932, no. 1, as Mrs. David Bruce.
1969
In Memoriam, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, unnumbered checklist.
Bibliography
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 188, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: x, 257, color repros.
Inscriptions
lower right: de László / 1926. III.
Wikidata ID
Q20192599