Robert Norman Hepple (18 May 1908 – 3 January 1994) was an English portrait painter, engraver and sculptor, best known for his portraits of the British royal family. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1948 and served as their president from 1979 to 1983. Elected as an Associate Member to the

Royal Academy of Arts 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 purpo ...

in 1954, Hepple became an Academician in 1961.

Biography

Early life

Hepple was born in London and was the son of the painter Robert Watkin Hepple and the nephew of Wilson Hepple, the animal painter from Northumbria. Hepple studied at Goldsmiths College of Art and then the

Royal Academy Schools 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 purpo ...

, under Sir Walter Russell, where he obtained a scholarship in engraving. During the 1930s Hepple illustrated the books of the Shropshire novelist

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English Romance (literary fiction), romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and ...

World War II

At the start of the Second World War Hepple joined the

Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded i ...

, which in 1941 became the

National Fire Service The National Fire Service (NFS) was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service (Northern Ireland) was created in 1942. The NFS was created in August 1941 by the amalga ...

, NFS, and served as a fire-fighter during the London

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

. A number of other artists had joined the NFS and a firemen artists' committee had been formed which included Leonard Rosoman, Bernard Hailstone, Paul Lucien Dessau and Robert Coram. As well as contributing to both

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, and specialist civil defence art shows, the firemen held several of their own exhibitions. WAAC initially purchased two paintings by Hepple, one in 1940 and another in 1941. In 1943 WAAC commissioned a series of drawings from Hepple of NFS personnel and were to purchase another five paintings, including a fine portrait of a Canadian fire-fighter, from him before the war ended. At least one painting by Hepple was included in the firemen artists exhibitions that toured America during the war.

Post-war career

After the war Hepple resumed his career as a professional artist. In 1950 he designed a poster for

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, ''Service to Industry and Shipbuilding''. He painted portraits of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on three occasions;- in 1965 for the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

, in 1978 for the island of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and also in 1978 for the submarine officers of HMS ''Dolphin''. He painted notable portraits of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

and of the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

, who sat for him for four separate commissions. His 1978 portrait of Queen Elizabeth was adapted for use on banknotes issued in Jersey. Hepple was elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1948 and served as their president from 1979 to 1983. 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 ...

elected Hepple as a member in 1950. He was elected as an Associate Member to the

in 1954, and became a full Academician in 1961. Failing eyesight eventually curtailed his painting career. He died from injuries he received after being run over by a car whilst returning to his home in Richmond in London from a meeting at the Royal Academy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hepple, Norman 1908 births 1994 deaths 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools British firefighters British war artists Civil Defence Service personnel English male painters English portrait painters Painters from London Pedestrian road incident deaths People educated at Colfe's School Road incident deaths in London Royal Academicians Royal Society of Portrait Painters World War II artists