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Mkey: 45907 Sitter/Title: Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Bt Qualifier: by Artist(s): Howard Coster Date made: 1929 Medium: 10 x 8 inch film negative Ref Neg Number: 46681 Credit line: © National Portrait Gallery, London Authority data import (Capture): Politician, connoisseur, Male, Experts, connoisseurs People Authority (Sitters): Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Bt Caption: Taken at Port Lympne, the country house Sassoon had begun before the First World War, to the designs of the architect {Sir Herbert Baker|mp219}. The interiors had decorative schemes by {Rex Whistler|mp4795}, {Glyn Philpott|mp3553} and the Catalan artist Jose Maria Sert. The gardens were designed by Sassoon himself, and were carried out by Philip Tilden from 1919. The gardens are peopled with sculpture bought by Sassoon at the sale of the contents of Stowe, a great eighteenth century garden, in 1921. A gardening staff of 20 was needed in August, the month that Sassoon lived and entertained at Port Lympne. Visitors included people as various as Earl Mountbatten, Lytton Strachey, Winston Churchill and Noel Coward. Sassoon is seen at the Front door, in the Octagon Library and at the foot of the Trojan Stairs, 125 steps enclosed by hedges of clipped yew. Seen in informal dress, the cricketer's jersey is indicative of the new casual style of the 1920s and is suggestive of outdoor sports such as tennis or golf.