De László Film Archive: An Introduction
In 1926 de László painted the portrait of George Eastman (Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, USA) who presented him with one of the first hand-held motion picture cameras, the Ciné-Kodak model B, introduced in 1925. From then until de László’s death in 1937, the artist, his sons and his studio assistant, Frederick Harwood, filmed an unique record of his life and work on 16mm film, which was sent to America to be developed, the process being unknown in England at the time.
About twenty hours of film have survived in varying condition. It was first restored and put onto VHS tape by the artist’s grandson, Martin de Laszlo. He spent many hours with his uncle Paul and father John recording their commentaries, which reflect the language and views of their age.
The identification of these clips is a work in progress, please contact katherine@delaszlo.com with any information or corrections.
