SOLDSigned and inscribed 'Edward Bawden, assisted by E.W. Fenton & M. Hoddell'
Oil on 11 panels
176 x 539 cm (69 3/8 x 212 1/4 in.)
Tags: Edward Bawden oil panel allegory big pictures murals TOP 100 1.Master Designs Murals catalogue
Provenance: S.S Oronsay until 1975; Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries until 2006; Private collection
Exhibited: Ocean Liners: Speed & Style, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (3 February – 17 June 2018).
Literature: Edward Bawden, D.P. Bliss p.154; The Inward Laugh, M. Yorke p.172; Edward Bawden & Eric Ravilious – Design, P. Skipwith & B. Webb p.62; Edward Bawden, C. Bacon & J. McGregor p.137; Shipboard Style, R. Artmonsky pp.102-3; British Murals & Decorative Painting 1920-1960, Sansom & Co, 2013, pp.244-257
‘The high point of Edward Bawden’s career as a muralist was achieved in the series of three murals – two for the Orient Line and one for the Festival of Britain – painted in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when his skill, wit and sheer inventiveness were at their peak. These three murals – English Garden Delights, The English Pub and English Country Life – were united not only by their format but also by subject matter; both Colin Anderson and the organisers of the Festival set out to celebrate Britishness and to rejoice unashamedly in the fact that despite the depredations of war the country was once again reasserting its historic virtues, life and culture.’ (Petyon Skipwith, British Murals & Decorative Painting 1920-1960, Sansom & Co, p.245).
