Edward Le Bas R.A. 1904--1966, was an English painter and art collector. Le Bas read Architecture at Cambridge and studied in Paris he then moved to London to study at the Royal College of Art. He was born into a wealthy family where his father was a steel magnate, therefore Edward could afford to travel widely to paint in Europe and North Africa. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club and also with the London Group. His works are held at the Tate Gallery and various other institutions throughout the World. This painting is one of, if not , the largest of his works and undeniably the most mysterious. The painting is oil on canvas which in itself is not unusual for Le Bas but the subject is unfathomable, at the moment. It is inscribed ' Adelaide ' and ' In Questa Tomba Oscura ' which relates to a poet by the name of Giuseppe Carpani 1751-1825, he wrote a poem in 1807 which was published the following year, apparently he approached all the musicians at the time and it was Beethoven who was first to appreciate the verse, in addition Pavarotti many years later sang the verse. There is also the question of Adelaide which could either relate to Princess Victoria Louise Adelaide Matilda Charlotte of Prussia or the Duchess of Brunswick or Queen Adelaide wife of George IV. However the picture contains many indescribable elements, it is an allegory of constantly changing elements where Old Father Time dominates the main frame, the two women and the child appear to be standing back to back as to avoid confrontation although they are very similar in appearance, the child looks to see something on the horizon, maybe WW11. Carpani's poem describes a married man who had a lover and he died, he pleads to be left to lie in peace, perhaps this is relevant to the painting. Also there is another young boy with a broken string from a guitar, this represents discord, a snake in the grass veering onto the path, another mystery. Hans Holbein painted a picture of the Ambassadors, equally still enticing questions, in 1533 and this has been suggested as a reference point to the Le Bas picture and there maybe a connection between the messages that lie within the two paintings. The theme of the Le Bas picture seems to revolve around life and death and the struggles within. Holbein's painting has been with the National Gallery since 1890 and is still without answers. Edward Le Bas was a scholar and has left a mysterious puzzle behind which has turned out to be almost as difficult to understand as another Le Bas painting in my collection, a portrait, which mystified the art market for the last 6 years, I have exhibited the work here in the 1stDibs website, fortunately that mystery has been solved.
I have included an alternative biography of Edward Le Bas for your interest.
Edward Le Bas (27 October 1904 – 18 November 1966) was a prominent British painter and art collector. He is widely recognised for his vibrant, thickly textured oil paintings. His artistic circle closely tied him to the famous Bloomsbury Group. Le Bas was born in London to a wealthy family of Anglo-French descent. His father was a highly successful steel magnate, and his sister was the sculptor Molly Le Bas. He completed his early schooling here and formed a lifelong friendship with Cecil Beaton. He enrolled in 1924 to read architecture at Cambridge University. In Paris he spent two months under the mentorship of French painter Hermann Paul in Meudon. He shifted focus entirely to painting, studying under William Rothenstein from late 1924. Le Bas possessed a substantial private inheritance following his father's death in 1934. This financial stability allowed him to paint without commercial pressure. He drew deep inspiration from 20th-century French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist techniques. He favoured bold color application with heavily applied paint. His portfolio features landscapes, still lifes, domestic interiors, and intimate portraits.
He travelled and painted extensively in Mallorca, mainland France, Italy, and Morocco. Le Bas was an intimate friend of prominent Bloomsbury Group figures Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Grant was a frequent visitor to Le Bas’s home at 53 Bedford Square in London, where the two often painted side-by-side. The trio regularly took painting excursions to continental Europe, including a notable trip to Dieppe in 1946. Le Bas even modelled as Christ for Duncan Grant's decorative murals at Berwick Church.
Beyond his own easel, Le Bas was a passionate art collector. He amassed an exceptional collection of early 20th-century French and British masterpieces. His collection was particularly rich in works by Édouard Vuillard, the Camden Town Group, and his Bloomsbury peers. In 1963, the Royal Academy of Arts celebrated his discerning eye by hosting a highly acclaimed public exhibition titled A Painters Collection . Le Bas enjoyed significant institutional recognition throughout his career in 1936 he held his first successful solo exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery. He was elected a member of the London Group.1954 and elected a full Royal Academician (RA) in 1957. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to the arts. Today, his artworks are preserved in prestigious public archives, including the Tate Gallery, the Arts Council Collection, the National Portrait Gallery, and private collections.
