Country Celebrations
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About the work
- Location
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Country: Turkey
City: Ankara
Place: British Embassy
A municipal red truck carrying workmen, a basket of tools, a ladder and the giant letters ‘E’ and ‘R’, stops to make final preparations for the Coronation procession of Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Behind the truck, the tree-lined route is strewn with St George’s flags and colourful bunting. Amid the pomp and pageantry of the royal occasion, Kenneth Rowntree has captured a moment that sums up the public spirit of excitement on the day.
In April of that year, the Ministry of Works commissioned twelve artists ‘…to paint or sketch aspects of the Coronation Procession’. Rowntree was one of the group of official artists which included L. S. Lowry and Dame Laura Knight. Each artist was allocated a free seat along the route and paid a fee of £50. An exhibition of the final oil paintings and watercolours was held in November 1953 at government offices in Whitehall Gardens.
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About the artist
Born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, Kenneth Rowntree studied at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford (1930–34) and the Slade School of Art (1934–35). During the War he participated in the ‘Recording Britain’ project and was an Official War Artist. His first solo show in London (1946) was later followed by shows in Oxford, Newcastle and Newton. He joined the Society of Mural Painters and taught this subject at the Royal College of Art (1948–58). He made murals for ships and the British Pavilion, Brussels International Exhibition (1958). He taught in London and Oxford (1949–58) and won a Ford Foundation grant (USA, 1959). Professor of Fine Art at the University of Newcastle (1959–80), Rowntree’s works are in public collections including the Tate.
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Details
- Title
- Country Celebrations
- Portfolio Title
- Coronation Suite
- Date
- 1953
- Medium
- Lithograph
- Dimensions
- height: 31.00 cm, width: 43.00 cm
- Acquisition
- Purchased from the Royal College of Art, January 1954
- Inscription
- br: Kenneth Rowntree
- GAC number
- 2248