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Philip de László child portraits Raymond P. Johnson-Ferguson Lang
László: Commissioned Works of Children--Raymond P. Johnson-Ferguson (1913?- )
Figure 1.-- All of these commissioned portraits of boys show them in blouses giving them a rather poetic look as the outfits and the thin book seems to remind one of Lord Byron. We do not know if this is what László had in mind. Several of the portraits show boys in fancy blouses, some worn open. The portrait here shows Raymonmd wearing a blue velvet jacket over the blouse and what may be a tan vest along with a fancy jabot. Another portrait of Raymond a couple years earlier shows him wearing the blouse open. Click on the image to see the earlier potrtrait.
Raymond P. Johnson-Ferguson ws one of tghe 10 grandsons of the 1st Baron Aberconway. . During the First World War, at Lord Aberconway's request, de László who had had already painted Raymond's father, Major the Hon. Edward Johnson-Ferguson, as well as his wife Elsie, Aberconway's elder daughter to p[sain portrait of hisgrandsons. Double-portrait of their two elder sons, Neil and Brian, had previously been painted by the artist in 1912, the year Raymond was born. László painted the portrait in 1923. They are all connected to the Johnson-Ferguson Baronetcy, of Springkell in the County of Dumfries, of Kenyon in Newchurch-in-Culcheth in the County Palatine of Lancaster and of Wiston in the County of Lanark. The Baronetcy was created in 1906 for Edward Johnson-Ferguson. He was Chairman of Jabez Johnson, Hodgkinson and Pearson, Ltd, and also sat as Liberal Member of Parliament for Loughborough. He was born Edward Johnson but assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Ferguson (1881). All of these commissioned portraits of boys show them in blouses giving thenm a rather poetic look as the outfits and thin book seems to remind one of Lord Byron. We do not know if this is what László had in mind, but think it is unmlikely all the psrents had the same idea. All of these portraits show boys in blouses, rather fancy blouses. The portrait here shows Raymonmd wearing a blue velvet jacket over the blouse and what may be a tan vest along with a fancy jabot. Another portrait of Raymond a couple years earlier shows him wearing the blouse open. We are not sure about the clothing choices here. The boys are about the same age but painted at different times. We arenot sure if this was the parent's wishes are what László wanted.
These blouses are what the boys at the time might have worn for formal occassions like weddngs, but not for casual wear. He is holding a book which also dies not quite fit the outfit, but Charles Lang also seems to be holding the same book which was obviously a posing device.
