Sir Walter Townley (1863-1945) diplomat

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Diplomat Sir Walter Townley held posts around the world during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. In Paris he was Second Secretary (1892–94) and Chargés d’Affaires (1896); followed by posts in Tehran, Bucharest, Lisbon, Berlin, Constantinople and Washington. He was promoted to the post of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Paraguay in 1906. He completed his career as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to The Hague, an appointment he received in 1917. He retired in 1919 and died in London in 1945.

Philip Alexius De László, portrait painter, was born in Budapest, where he studied at the School of Arts and Crafts from 1884 and at the National Academy of Arts from 1885. He later studied at the Royal Bavarian Academy of Art, Munich, before enrolling at the Academie Julian in Paris in 1890. De Laszlo exhibited widely in Europe, including at the Paris Salon. He received many international honours and commissions from royalty. He settled in England in 1907, the year his first one-man show was held at the Fine Art Society, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1911. In 1914, he became a naturalised British subject, but was interned in 1917. In 1930, he became President of the Royal Society of British Artists. He died in London in 1937.

People

Sir Walter Townley (1863 - 1945)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, moustache, man, 20th century costume, diplomatic service uniform, glove, feather (fashion accessory), Order of St. Michael & St. George, diplomat, sword, column, pillar (architectural feature)

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Philip Alexius de László (1869 - 1937)

Title

Sir Walter Townley (1863-1945) diplomat

Date

July 1911

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 233.00 cm, width: 122.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Robinson & Foster, September 1950

Inscription

tl: P.A.Laszlo / 1911 July

GAC number

1169