The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in London has a pleasure to announce that it has become richer for the artistic portrait of Čedomilj Mijatović, one of the first 16 academics of the Serbian Royal Academy and its second President, as well as the founder of the National Bank of Serbia. As a six-time Serbian Minister of Finance, a multiple Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a long-time Ambassador of the Kingdom of Serbia in London, Mijatović left an indelible mark on British-Serbian relations. He was also a signatory to the trade agreement with the United States in 1881, which is marked as the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The urn with the ashes of Čedomilj Mijatović (died 1932) ended up in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in London during the Second World War, but was later lost. Mijatović’s very valuable archive also burned down in a fire in London before the First World War. Thus, this painting is one of the few preserved testimonies from his life. A bust of Čedomilj Mijatović was placed in the National Bank of Serbia, in front of the ceremonial hall of the governor, and in the hall itself there is a framed law on the establishment of the National Bank with Mijatović’s signature.
“As part of a wider concern for Serbian historical heritage, I thought it would be of historical importance to buy the painting and keep it on display at the Embassy,” said Serbian Ambassador to London Aleksandra Joksimović. ”I turned to a prominent British lawyer of Serbian origin Petar Orlić for help, who bought the portrait and donated it to the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in London, for which it is sincerely grateful “, added Joksimović.
The portrait was in the possession of Michael Tavinor, Head of the Hereford Cathedral, for decades. He received the painting from Čedomilj Mijatović’s daughter Milica Prior. She was the daughter of Mijatović’s second wife, Ada Prior. She lived modestly in the suburb of London, and the priest of the local Anglican Church in Ealing The Very Revd Tavinor helped her. In return, she gave him a portrait of her father from 1912, which he gave for restoration. After he retired, he decided to sell the portrait and his wish was for the painting to end up in Serbia.
The portrait is almost life-size and is the work of Indian artist Jehangir Ardeshir Lalkaka (1884-1967), very popular in Indian aristocratic circles. His portrait of King George V from 1929 is still in Buckingham Palace today.