Eric Kennington
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Eric Henri Kennington (12 March 1888 – 13 April 1960) was an English sculptor, artist and illustrator, and an official war artist in both World Wars. As a war artist, Kennington specialised in depictions of the daily hardships endured by soldiers and airmen. In the inter-war years he worked mostly on portraits and a number of book illustrations. The most notable of his book illustrations were for
T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
's ''
Seven Pillars of Wisdom ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), of serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire ...
''. Kennington was also a gifted sculptor, best known for his 24th East Surrey Division War Memorial in
Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...
, for his work on the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...
in Stratford-upon-Avon and for the effigy of Lawrence at Wareham in Dorset.


Biography


Early life

Kennington was born in
Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...
, the second son of the
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
and portrait painter,
Thomas Benjamin Kennington Thomas Benjamin Kennington (7 April 1856 – 10 December 1916) was a British genre, social realist and portrait painter. He was a founder member of the New English Art Club (NEAC) and the Imperial Arts League. Life and works Kennington was bo ...
(1856–1916), a founder member of the
New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...
. He was educated at St Paul's School and the
Lambeth School of Art Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...
. Kennington first exhibited at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1908. At the International Society in April 1914 Kennington exhibited a series of paintings and drawings of
costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...
s which sold well and allowed him to set up a studio off
Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
in London..


First World War

At the start of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Kennington enlisted with the 13th (Kensington) Battalion London Regiment on 6 August 1914. He fought on the Western Front, but was wounded in January 1915 and evacuated back to England. Kennington was injured while attempting to clear a friend's jammed rifle and he lost one toe and was fortunate not to lose a foot due to infection. He spent four months in hospital before being discharged as unfit in June 1915. During his convalescence, he spent six months painting ''
The Kensingtons at Laventie ''The Kensingtons at Laventie'' is a large oil painting on glass by Eric Kennington completed in 1915 that depicts a First World War platoon of British troops. The group depicted was Kennington's own infantry platoon; Platoon No 7, C Company, th ...
'', a group portrait of his own infantry platoon, Platoon No 7, 'C' Company. Kennington himself is the figure third from the left, wearing a balaclava. When exhibited in the spring of 1916, its portrayal of exhausted soldiers caused a sensation. Painted in reverse on glass, the painting is now in the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
and was widely praised for its technical virtuosity, iconic colour scheme, and its "stately presentation of human endurance, of the quiet heroism of the rank and file". Kennington visited the Somme in December 1916 as a semi-official artist visitor before, back in London, producing six lithographs under the title ''Making Soldiers'' for the Ministry of Information's ''Britain's Efforts and Ideals'' portfolio of images which were exhibited in Britain and abroad and were also sold as prints to raise money for the war effort. In May 1917 he accepted an official war artist commission from the Department of Information. Kennington was commissioned to spend a month on the Western Front but he applied for numerous extensions and eventually spent seven and a half months in France. Kennington was originally based at the Third Army Headquarters and would spend time at the front lines near
Villers-Faucon Villers-Faucon () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Saint-Quentin, at the D72 and D101 crossroads, in the far east of the départem ...
. Later during this tour, his friend
William Rothenstein Sir William Rothenstein (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Emerging during the early 1890s, Rothenstein continued to make art right up until his death. Though he c ...
was also appointed as a war artist and they worked together at Montigny Farm and at
Devise Devise may refer to: * To invent something * A disposal of real property in a will and testament, or the property itself which has been disposed of * Devise, Somme See also * Device (disambiguation) * Devizes Devizes is a market town and civ ...
on the Somme, where they often came under shell-fire. Kennington spent most of his time painting portraits, which he was happy to do, but became increasingly concerned about his lack of access to the front line and that the official censor was removing the names of his portrait subjects. Although Kennington was among the first of the official war artists Britain sent to France, he was not afforded anything like the status and facilities that the others, in particular
William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...
and
Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone (23 March 1876 – 21 October 1953) was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars. A ...
enjoyed. Whereas Kennington was working for neither salary nor expenses and had no official car or staff, Orpen was given the rank of major, had his own military aide, a car and driver, plus, at his own expense, a batman and assistant to accompany him. Kennington could be aggressive and irritable and at times complained bitterly about his situation, claiming he must have been the cheapest artist employed by the Government and that "Bone had a commission and Orpen had a damned good time". During his time in France, Kennington produced 170 charcoal,
pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...
and watercolours before returning to London in March 1918. Whilst in France in 1918, Kennington was admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station at Tincourt-Boucly to be treated for
trench fever Trench fever (also known as "five-day fever", "quintan fever" ( la, febris quintana), and "urban trench fever") is a moderately serious disease transmitted by body lice. It infected armies in Flanders, France, Poland, Galicia, Italy, Salonika, Ma ...
. There he made a number of sketches and drawings of men injured during the bombardment that preceded the German 1918 Spring Offensive. Some of these drawings became the basis of the completed painting ''Gassed and Wounded''. Throughout June and July 1918 an exhibition of Kennington's work, "The British Soldier", was held in London and received great reviews and some public acclaim. Despite this, Kennington was unhappy in his dealings with Department of Information, mainly concerning the censoring of his paintings, and he resigned his war artist commission with the British. In November 1918 Kennington was commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials Scheme to depict Canadian troops in Europe. That month he returned to France as a temporary first lieutenant attached to the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish), CEF. The eight months Kennington spent in Germany, Belgium and France, working for the Canadians, resulted in some seventy drawings.


1920s

At an exhibition of his war art in London, Kennington met
T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
who became a great influence on him. Kennington spent the first half of 1921 travelling through Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine drawing portraits of Arab subjects. These were displayed at an exhibition in October 1921 and some of the drawings were used as illustrations for Lawrence's ''
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), of serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire o ...
'', for which Kennington worked as the art editor. Years later, in 1935, Kennington was to serve as one of the six pallbearers at Lawrence's funeral. In 1922 Kennington began to experiment with stone carving and soon undertook his first public commission, the War Memorial to the 24th Division in
Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...
which was unveiled in October 1924. The same month he held his first exhibition which focused on sculpture rather than his paintings and drawings, although he continued to accept portrait commissions and other work. These included the original dust jacket design for
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's book ''
The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism ''The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism'' is a non-fiction book written by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. The book employs socialist and Marxist thought. It was written in 1928 after his sister-in-law, Mary Stewart ...
''. During the 1920s, Kennington worked on a frieze for the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...
intended to be situated above the School's Keppel Street entrance. The stone panel depicts a mother and child being protected from a fanged serpent by a nude, bearded, knife-wielding father. However, due to the prominent display of male genitalia, the trustees of the School would not allow it to be placed above the School's entrance unless Kennington added a well placed loin cloth. He refused and the work was placed above the entrance of the library where it remains. In 1966, when the library's mezzanine floor was constructed, a large crack formed and was subsequently painted to disguise the damage. In 1922, Kennington married Edith Cecil, daughter of Lord Francis Horace Pierrepont Cecil (who was second son of
William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter PC (30 April 1825 – 14 July 1895), styled Lord Burghley between 1825 and 1867, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household between 1866 and 1867 and as ...
), with whom he had a son and a daughter. Edith, who was already married to William Hanbury-Tracy (5th Baron Sudeley), fell in love with Kennington while he was painting her husband's picture. They both remained good friends with Edith's ex-husband.


1930s

Throughout the late 1920s and the 1930s, Kennington produced a number of notable public sculptures, *September 1926; a bronze bust of T. E. Lawrence which in 1936 was unveiled in the crypt of
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
*July 1929; three nine foot high stone figures of British soldiers for the
Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
Memorial to the Missing, the Soissons Memorial *1931;
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
which was unveiled in Dorchester by
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...
on 2 September that year *September 1931; a series of five allegorical reliefs, entitled ''Love'', ''Jollity'', ''Treachery'', ''War'' and ''Life & Death'', on the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...
building in Stratford on Avon. *December 1936; the Comet Inn pillar,
Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess of ...
*1937-1939; a life-sized effigy, in Portland stone, of T. E. Lawrence for
St Martin's Church, Wareham St Martin's Church, Wareham, sometimes St Martin's-on-the-walls, is an Anglo-Saxon church in the town of Wareham, Dorset in England. It is the most complete example of an Anglo-Saxon church in Dorset. It is a Grade I listed building and a Sc ...
, Dorset.


Second World War

By November 1938 Kennington was certain that another World War was inevitable and he approached the Home Office with a proposal to establish a group to design camouflage schemes for large public buildings. Alongside Richard Carline,
Leon Underwood George Claude Leon Underwood (25 December 1890 – 9 October 1975) was a British artist, although primarily known as a sculptor, printmaker and painter, he was also an influential teacher and promotor of African art. His travels in Mexico a ...
and others he worked in a section attached to the
Air Raid Precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s an ...
Department of the Home Office until war broke out. At the start of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Kennington produced a number of pastel portraits of Royal Navy officers for the
War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...
(WAAC), on short-term contracts. These portraits were among the highlights of the first WAAC exhibition at the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in the summer of 1940. Kennington also painted a portrait of Admiral of the Fleet Sir
Dudley Pound Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound, (29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943) was a British senior officer of the Royal Navy. He served in the First World War as a battleship commander, taking part in the Battle of Jutland ...
. Pound was seriously ill when Kennington sketched him and although the Admiralty were pleased with the image they refused permission for it to be displayed until after Pound died in October 1943. Kennington next painted several younger seamen, several of whom had survived shipwrecks. By May 1940 Kennington was frustrated by WAAC's lack of urgency in putting forward subjects for him to paint and resigned his contract. He joined the newly formed
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
and was given command of a six-man section at
Ipsden Ipsden is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford. It is almost equidistant from Oxford and Reading, Berkshire. Parish church The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the ...
. In August 1940 the WAAC Committee offered him a full-time salaried contract to work for the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, which he accepted. Among Kennington's first RAF portraits was one of Squadron Leader
Roderick Learoyd Wing Commander Roderick Alastair Brook Learoyd, VC (5 February 1913 – 24 January 1996) was a Royal Air Force bomber pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Brit ...
VC. The sitting took place on the afternoon of 7 September 1940 at the Air Ministry building in London and was interrupted by an air-raid siren which, after Learoyd had looked outside to see where the German planes were heading, the two men ignored. By March 1941 Kennington was based at
RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
, a
Night Fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
base. Here, as well as portraits Kennington produced some more imaginative works, including ''In the Flare Path'' and ''Stevens' Rocket''. Kennington next spent some time at
Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
bases in Norfolk before moving to
RAF Ringway The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
near Manchester where the Parachute Regiment were training. Although over-age, Kennington undertook at least one parachute jump at Ringwood. In September 1941 he self-published an illustrated booklet, ''Pilots, Workers, Machines'' to great acclaim. Kennington continued to travel around Britain to produce hundreds of portraits of Allied flight crew and other service personnel until September 1942 when he resigned his commission because he felt that WAAC were failing to capitalise on the propaganda value of his work in their publications and posters. Some 52 of Kennington's
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
portraits were published in a 1942 WAAC book, ''Drawing the RAF''. This was followed in 1943 with ''Tanks and Tank Folk'', illustrations from Kennington's time with the
11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...
near
Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
in Yorkshire. In 1945 Kennington supplied the illustrations for ''Britain's Home Guard'' by John Brophy. Darracott and Loftus describe how in both wars "his drawings and letters show him to be an admirer of the heroism of ordinary men and women", an admiration which is particularly notable in the poster series "Seeing it Through", with poems by
A. P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Born in Ashtead, Su ...
, a personal friend of his.


Post-war career

By the time the war ended over forty of the RAF pilots and aircrew whose portraits Kennington had painted had been killed in action. Kennington resolved to create a suitable memorial for them and over the next ten years, whilst also working on sculpture and portrait commissions, he patiently carved ''1940'', a column with the head of an RAF pilot topped by the Archangel Michael with a lance slaying a dragon. In 1946 Kennington was appointed as the official portrait painter to the
Worshipful Company of Skinners The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 1327 ...
. Over the next five years he produced nine pastel portraits for the company, which were highly praised when shown at the Royal Academy. In 1951 Kennington became an associate member of the Academy and was elected a full academician in 1959. His last work, which was completed on his death by his assistant Eric Stanford, was a stone relief panel that decorates the James Watt South Building in the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
. Kennington is buried in the churchyard in Checkendon, Oxfordshire, where he was churchwarden, and is commemorated on a memorial in
Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...
, London.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennington, Eric 1888 births 1960 deaths Military personnel from London 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Lambeth School of Art Artists from London British Army personnel of World War I British Home Guard soldiers British war artists Camoufleurs English illustrators English male painters English portrait painters English male sculptors London Regiment soldiers People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Chelsea, London Royal Academicians World War I artists World War II artists