Chiswick Auctions Old Master Paintings sale on October 31, 2018 in London features a painting that was originally in the private collection of Major Frank Goldsmith MP, a close friend of Sir Winston Churchill.

The painting titled: Portrait of Princess Charlotte, by the Circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence, was carefully hidden away with other artworks during the war, for fear of it being looted. It will be offered for sale by a granddaughter of Goldsmith.

Frank Goldsmith (1878-1967) was christened Franck Adolphe Benedict Goldschmidt into the German Jewish Goldschmidt family, in Frankfurt in 1878. He was the son of the multi-millionaire Adolphe Benedict Hayum Goldschmidt. The family moved to London in 1895 and changed their surname to the more anglicised ‘Goldsmith’ to avoid being ostracized in his host country.

Frank attended Oxford University and went on to pursue a career in politics. In 1903 he was elected to Westminster City Council and remained a member for four years. In 1904, he was elected a member of London County Council, representing St Pancras South, having defeated candidates George Bernard Shaw and Sir William Geary.

From 1904 to 1910, Goldsmith was active on a range of committees, spanning education and special schooling. He also became a whip of the Municipal Reform Party. In homage to his heritage, he was involved in many Jewish charities, particularly in the aiding of the emigration of Jews. He also became a member of the emigration committee of the Jewish Board of Guardians.

In the January 1910 general election, Goldsmith was elected Conservative MP for the Stowmarket division of Suffolk, close to his family home of Cavenham Park. In 1918 anti-German hysteria set in and his political career ended. During World War I he served in Gallipoli and Palestine with the Suffolk Yeomanry, a part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division.

After the war, unable to cope with anti-German hostility in England, he moved to France and set up a hotel business, building up a portfolio of over 48 hotels. These included the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, the Carlton in Cannes and the Lotti in Paris. He was also Director of the Savoy Hotel company for many years and one of the founders of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. While in France he was awarded the Chevalier of the Légion d' Honneur.

He died in Paris on 14 February 1967, leaving a widow and two sons; Edward Goldsmith (1928-2009), the environmentalist and father of Clio Goldsmith, who inherited this painting and James Goldsmith (1933-1997), businessman and founder of the Euro-sceptic Party, father to Jemima Khan and Ben and Zac Goldsmith (now a Conservative MP).

The exquisite Portrait of Princess Charlotte by Circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence P.R.A (Bristol 1769-1830) is in oil on canvas. It was created after a picture at Buckingham Palace of the Princess with her mother Queen Caroline. (There is another portrait by Lawrence of the same scale at Windsor Castle).

The painting is estimated to fetch £3,000-£5,000 at Chiswick Auctions next Wednesday, October 31, 2018.