Ailsa Mellon Bruce

1926

Philip Alexius de László

Artist, British, born Hungary, 1869 - 1937

Shown from the knees up, a pale-skinned woman sits and leans on the arm of a seat in this vertical portrait painting. The woman’s knees and shoulders are angled to our right but she turns her head slightly to our left so she looks out at us from the corners of her green, wide-set eyes. She has an oval face with a short nose, full pink lips, and a cleft in her chin. Her brown hair is set in loose finger waves and is either chin-length or pulled back. Her sleeveless, scoop-necked, ivory-white gown has spaghetti straps edged with gold. A sheen on the fabric suggests that it shimmers between white, mauve pink, and gold, and gold tracery around her hips mimics the look of a drop-waist over a long, flaring skirt. A rose-pink shawl drapes over her left arm, to our right, which rests on the arm of her seat. A long strand of pearls is looped twice around that wrist like a bracelet as the other end is pulled over her fingers, which she holds in front of her chest. Her other arm, to our left, is stretched straight by her side, and she wears a ring on that hand. The seat has an arched back and is painted with streaks of gold and tan. A darkened opening behind her is shaded midnight blue. Gold frames or molding flank the opening along the left and right edges of the canvas. The portrait is loosely painted, especially in her clothing and the background. The artist signed and dated the bottom right corner, “de Lászlo 1626. III.”
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On View

NGA, West Building, M-113, S


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • 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


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