(Budapest, 30 April 1869 – London, 22 November 1937)
He became his studies at the Hungarian School of Art and was an apprentice to a photographer in years to follow.
He continued his studies in Munich and Paris. In 1900 he married Lucy Guinness, a member of the family of the famous irish beer, and portrayed Pope Leo XIII. Thanks to this work, he obtained the gold medal at Paris International Exhibition.
In 1903, he moved to Vienna and, in 1907, to London, which it became his residence and where he received commissions by the british aristocracy, including a commission by Queen of Prussia, Augusta Victoria.
In 1908 he visited the United States to portray Theodore Roosevelt, and thanks to this trip he gained a large group of potential audience, so he painted a series of portraits of distinguished american people.
He was briefly imprisoned for being a suspect in espionage during World War I, but he continued to portray famous and influent people for all his life.
In 1912, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, bestowed him with noble dignity and his last name became László de Lombos”. His family lately shortened the name to “de László”.
In 1936 he wrote “The image must show to us the spirit in which the human form is vitalized… It must provide the spectator the enviroment and the atmosphere that suits their personality and coherent with their life style.”
© 2020 Luca Morselli