László: Commissioned Works of Children--Garvan Family (1921)
Figure 1.-- Philip A. de László is best known for painting European aristocrats and other wealthy individuals. A apparently he also painted wealthy Americans. This painting is Mrs. Francis P. Garvan and her four children, two boys and two girls. They seem to have had an estate in Oyster Bay on Long Ilnd , New York where the portrait was painted. President Theodore Roosevelt also had an estate there--Sagamore Hill. Francis P. Garvan (1875-1937) was a lawyer, government official, and long-time president of the Chemical Foundation, Inc. They had an estate on Loing UIskand where this family portrait was painted (1921). The children here appear to be Franvus Jr., Mabel, Flora, and Anthony. The portrait was painted shortly after Garvan took on the task of administering the Chemnical Foundation. The girls wear colored dresses with hair bows. Mabel's dress has a huge pink waist band and huge back bow. She also holds a wide-brimmed straw hat. Francis Jr. wears a black suit with an Eton collar. Anthoiny wears a Fauntlrroy suit with an open colllar and short pants and strap shoes.
Philip A. de László is best known for painting European aristocrats and other wealthy individuals. A apparently he also painted wealthy Americans. This painting is Mrs. Francis P. Garvan and her four children, two boys and two girls. They seem to have had an estate in Oyster Bay on Long Ilnd , New York where the portrait was painted. President Theodore Roosevelt also had an estate there--Sagamore Hill. Francis P. Garvan (1875-1937) was a lawyer, government official, and long-time president of the Chemical Foundation, Inc. He was appointed by Presidebnt Wilson after Attornry General Palmer stepped down, The Chemical Foundation was established to administer 4,500 German patents associated with production of synthetic organic chemicals and related pharmaceuticals. They were seized by the Office of Alien Property Custodian after World War I as war reparations. With financial support of the Chemical Foundation Garvan was an active promoter of the Chemurgy-movement and he used Chemocal Foundation Funds in this effort. He supported in close collaboration with Henry Ford and others the farm-based production of ethanol (alcohol) which played a role in supplying synthetic rubber during World War II. His sister, Genevieve Garvan, married prominent New York City businessman, Nicholas Frederic Brady (1906). Garvan married Nicholas Brady's sister, Mabel (1910). The couple had seven children, six of whom survived to adulthood: Patricia Garvan (d. 1918), Francis Patrick Garvan, Jr., Mabel Brady Garvan (Mrs. Robert Philip Noble) (d. 1972), Flora Brady Garvan (Mrs. Francis D. Winslow 2d), Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan, Peter Dunne Garvan, and Marcia Anne Garvan (d. 2014). The children here appear to be Franvus Jr., Mabel, Flora, and Anthony. The portrait was painted shortly after Garvan took on the task of administering the Chemnical Foundation. The girls wear colored dresses with hair bows. Mabel's dress has a huge pink waist band and huge back bow. She also holds a wide-brimmed straw hat. Francis Jr. wears a black suit with an Eton collar. Anthony wears a Fauntlrroy suit with an open colllar and short pants and strap shoes. A reader writes, "I think the location was Old Westbury and they were part of the elite Gold Coast people and neighbors to the Phipps of US Steel and Bessemer Trust fame. My understanding is that the Old Westbury money was more into Polo Ponies etc. while the Coastal Groups were more yachting (Oyster Bay group) Vanderbilt's, Gould, etc."
