Dominick Elwes

Dominick Elwes
Born	Bede Evelyn Dominick Elwes (1931-08-17)August 17, 1931 Great Billing, Northamptonshire, England
Died	September 5, 1975(1975-09-05) (aged 44) Chelsea, London
Resting place	Amberley, West Sussex, England
Nationality	English
Citizenship	Great Britain
Education	Ladycross Friends Academy (1940-1941) St. Albans (1941-1944) Downside (1945-1948)
Occupation(s)	portrait-painter, editor, journalist
Known for	Paintings, Elopement
Spouse	Tessa Kennedy (1958-1967)
Children	Cassian Elwes Damian Elwes Cary Elwes
Parent(s)	Simon Elwes Gloria Rodd
Relatives	Brothers: Peter Elwes Timothy Elwes

Bede Evelyn Dominick Elwes (credited as Dominick Elwes or Dominic Elwes) (August 17, 1931 – September 5, 1975) was an English portrait painter whose much publicized elopement with an heiress in 1957 was a scandale célèbre.

Biography

Elwes (pronounced "El-wez") was born on August 17, 1931 at Billing Hall, Northamptonshire, to English portrait painter, Simon Elwes R.A., K.M., and the Hon. Gloria Rodd, daughter of Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell, P.C., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., sometime British Ambassador to Rome and Conservative M.P. for St. Marylebone (1928-1932). He is descended from the recusant Cary-Elwes family which includes noted British monks and bishops, such as Abbott Columba Cary-Elwes, Archbishop Dudley Cary-Elwes and Father Luke Cary-Elwes. He was the grandson of Gervase Cary Elwes (1866–1921), diplomat and Lady Winifride Mary Elizabeth Feilding, daughter of the 8th Earl of Denbigh. One of his cousins was Tremayne Rodd, 3rd Baron Rennell. For his early education Elwes spent much of his childhood during World War II in the United States after which he returned to England to attend Downside, a co-educational Catholic independent school located in Somerset.

Elopement

At age 26, Elwes met and wished to marry 19-year-old Tessa Kennedy, daughter of Geoffrey Ferrar Kennedy and Daška Ivanović. Kennedy's parents, however, disapproved of the relationship and instituted wardship proceedings. On December 3, 1957, Mr. Kennedy obtained a restraining order against Elwes from a judge, Justice Sir Ronald F. Roxburgh, thus barring the couple from getting married. The High Court Tipstaff was not authorized, however, to apprehend Elwes in any place outside England or Wales. After initially attempting to be betrothed in Scotland, Kennedy and Elwes subsequently eloped to Cuba where they were wed in a civil ceremony on January 27, 1958 in Havana as guests of famed mobster Meyer Lansky. They stayed at his hotel, The Hotel Habana Riviera, until Fidel Castro's revolution threatened the stability of the country. Fleeing Havana aboard a aboard a raft with two National Geographic explorers the newlyweds sailed to Miami. From there the couple flew to New York where they took out a marriage license on March 31. On April 1, they repeated the ceremony to make sure they were legally wed in Manhattan's Supreme Court. Soon after Elwes's father convinced the couple to return to England. On July 15, the newlyweds sailed the liner SS Liberté which docked at Southampton. The next day, accompanied by his bride and attorney, Elwes turned himself over to authorities and was transferred to Brixton Prison for two weeks while awaiting trial for contempt of court for defying Judge Roxborgh's order to return Ms. Kennedy to her parents. In the resulting trial the judge accepted that Elwes did love his bride but commented that every parent knows that love was not "readily convertible into bread and butter" for the support of a wife. In his ruling he allowed Elwes to be released from custody but ordered that Kennedy remain a ward of court.

Career

From 1958 Elwes was the assistant editor of Lilliput Magazine until it's closure in 1960. From 1960 until 1962 he was the Company Director of Dome Press and where he began the newsweekly Topic Magazine as Editorial Director along with William Rees-Davies and Maurice Macmillan. In 1963, together with Nicholas Luard, he published and subsequently became the Director of Design Yearbook, which developed into the book-packaging firm November Books. Their clients included Thames & Hudson, one of the world’s leading publishers of illustrated books on art, architecture, design and visual culture. In 1964, he co-authored a book with Luard entitled, "Refer to Drawer: Being a Penetrating Survey of a Shameful National Practice – Hustling" which included illustrations by cartoonist John Glashan. Elwes was also a member of the National Union of Journalists. Following in his father's footsteps Elwes became a portrait painter in the mid-sixties painting many of the Clermont Set. Around 1967 Elwes relocated to Andalucia, Spain where, with the aid of architect Philip Jebb, he designed a Mediterranean-style apartment complex which was completed in 1970. Clients included Luard and the actor Hugh Millais. Elwes also became part owner of a hair salon, Figurehead, on Pont St. in Knightsbridge. The salon featured many portraits by Elwes and his father.

Elwes committed suicide in 1975. He and Kennedy had three children together, film producer Cassian Elwes, artist Damian Elwes, and actor Cary Elwes.

Artworks

• 1969 – Portrait of John Aspinall
• 1970 – Portrait of Min Aspinall & Mushie
• 1971 – Portrait of Sir Vivyan (or Vyvian) Edward Naylor-Leyland, 3rd Baronet
• 1972 – Portrait of Lord Lucan

Bibliography

• Refer to Drawer: Being a Penetrating Survey of a Shameful National Practice – Hustling with Nicholas Luard. Arthur Barker Ltd. (London) 1964.

See also

Simon Elwes
Tessa Kennedy
Kenneth Tynan
Mark Birley
Lady Annabel Goldsmith
Hugh Millais
Nicholas Luard
Tremayne Rodd, 3rd Baron Rennell
Clermont Set

External links

• The Independent Obituary of Nicholas Luard
• The Independent Obituary of Philip Jebb
• The New Statesman
• Google Newspapers/Ellensburg Daily Record