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La Fontaine was born in Smyrna, Turkey, on 21 December 1915. He studied in London, England, at the Regent Street Polytechnic School from 1934 to 1936; the City and Guilds School in Kennington, London, from 1936 to 1939; and with Richard Grenville Eves at the Spenlove School and the Yellow Door Studio in London in 1939. During the Second World War he served in the 10th Infantry Brigade of the Home Forces in Britain, continuing to paint in his spare time. In the postwar period he established himself as a portrait painter of both human and equine subjects. His work covered the range of equestrian sport, including among his subjects foxhunting, polo, and racing, both on the flat and over fences. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in the 1940s and 1950s, showing mostly portraits of human sitters. Although he remained based in England throughout his career, living in London through the 1950s and later settling in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, he frequently traveled and spent extended periods living and working in the United States. By the 1980s he was well known internationally, receiving numerous commissions without needing to expend time and effort in promoting himself. His American work, normally commissioned, includes southern plantation quail shooting in addition to all manner of equestrian sports. His portrait of The Reuter Children, 1990, commissioned by the author, depicts the author's children, their pony, and spaniel on the farm in Aldie, Virginia. |
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