IRWIN, LADY
Neg. No: (GP) L 8973
Neg. Size: 12"x10"
Neg. Date: 19-02-1926
Sitter:
Lady Irwin, later Countess of Halifax née Dorothy Evelyn Augusta Onslow
(d. 1976).
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Wife of the recently appointed and enobled Viceroy of India, Lady Irwin was born in New Zealand when her father, the 4th Earl of Onslow, was Governor General. As the Vicereine she would become the leader of society in India and hold courts attended by some of the hundreds of heavily-bejewelled rajas and maharajas and other rulers of the Indian princely states.
Lady Irwin was to the manor born, and her husband’s biographer would later praise the quasi-royal qualities she exhibited: “Although born with an admirable brain and incomparable charm she deliberately subordinated these qualities to the solace of her husband's private, and the advancement of his public life… She was one of those who could experience periods of immense grandeur without the slightest alteration in the basic simplicity of their character.”
In this portrait, Lady Irwin assumes a regal stance in a ¾ length gown made by Misses Wilson of Grosvenor Street, of duck-egg blue, entirely embroidered in crystals and shimmering sequins. The train is of of shot blue and silver giving what the press called “a lovely finish to an exquisite ensemble.” She also wears four ropes of pearls and a massive diamond tiara.
After her husband’s further enoblement in 1944, she became Countess of Halifax.
Biog:
Younger daughter of 4th Earl of Onslow; m. (1909) Edward Frederick
Linley Wood, 1st Baron Irwin (cr 1925) & 1st Earl of
Halifax (cr 1944), Viceroy & Gov. Gen. Of India 1926-31.
Date:
19 February 1926.
Occasion:
-(1)
Location:
The Lafayette Studio, 160 New Bond Street, London, W.
Descr:
FL standing.
Costume:
Court dress: "Wonderful gown of duck's egg blue, entirely embroidered in crystals
and shimmering sequins. The train of shot blue and silver lamé gave
a lovely finish to an exquisite ensemble" (The Morning Post,
24 May 1928, p 6a).
Costume Supplier:
The Misses Wilson, 51 Grosvenor Street, London, W.
Jewellery:
-
Furniture &
Props: Painted backdrop.
Photographer:
Lafayette Ltd., 160 New Bond Street, London.
Evidence of
photographer at work: -
No of poses:
2.
irw8971.html
Copyright:
V&A Provenance: Pinewood Studios; acquired
1989.
References:
Biog: Burke's Peerage; Earl of Halifax, Fulness of Days,
London, 1957; S. Gopal, The Viceroyalty of Lord Irwin,
London, 1957.
Occasion:
-
Costume: The Morning Post, 24 May 1928, p 6a.
Costume Supplier: The Morning Post, 24 May 1928, p 6a.
Jewellery:
-
Reproduced:
(version) The Morning Post, 24 May 1928, p 6.
Acknowledgements:
-
1. The
sitter wore the same court dress for the court of 23 May 1928 (see
The Morning Post, 24 May 1928, p 6a). 2 copies of the original
negative of 1926 were made at a later date, possibly 1928, for reproduction
in the press. |
