An Inventory of His Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Kennington, Eric, 1888-1960
Title:
Eric Kennington Art
Collection
Dates:
1926-1935
Extent:
47 items
Abstract:
The Eric Kennington Art Collection
consists of forty-five drawings and prints completed for T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and two bronze portrait
sculptures of Lawrence.
Call Number:
Art Collection AR-00142
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Researchers
must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before
using
archival materials. Please note that a minimum of 24 hours notice is required
to pull
art materials to the Ransom Center's Reading and Viewing Room. Some materials
may be
restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve art materials, please
contact the Center's staff at art@hrc.utexas.edu. Researchers must create an online
Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival
materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information
that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations.
Researchers
are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable
living
individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals
may have
legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of
privacy may
arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would
be deemed
highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University
of
Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use:
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of
the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder
which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the
Ransom
Center's Open Access and Use Policies.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation:
Eric Kennington Art Collection (Art Collection AR-00142). Harry Ransom Center, The
University of Texas at Austin.
Eric Henri Kennington was an English painter and sculptor born in London on March
12,
1888. Following his training at Lambeth School of Art (1905–1907), he gained success
with the Costermongers, a painting noted for its
frank depiction of London street life. A year of service in the army directly
informed his Kensingtons at Laventie, a chilling
document of endurance and sacrifice praised for its unusual oil-on-glass technique.
Throughout his employment as an Official War Artist in 1917–1918 and 1940–1942,
Kennington produced a large number of idealized pastel portraits of ordinary
serviceman.
Kennington is perhaps best known for his lively illustrations for T. E. Lawrence's
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926). The two men were
close friends and Kennington produced two busts of Lawrence. One, in bronze, is
in the
Tate Gallery in London, and the other is in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.
He
also designed an effigy of Lawrence, held in St Martin's Church in Wareham,
Dorset.
In the 1920s, Kennington's sculpture began to assume considerable importance. His
war memorials to the 24th Division in Battersea Park, London (1924), and the Allied
Forces in Soissons, France (1928), established his position as a direct carver
working on a monumental scale. For the remainder of his career, however, he worked
in isolation, producing reliefs for schools, colleges, and churches.
Eric Kennington died April 14, 1960 after a long illness. He was seventy-two.
Sources:
"Kennington, Eric Henri (1888-1960) Artist." Your
Archives, revision as of 11 December 2009.
http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Kennington,_Eric_Henri_(1888-1960)_Artist&oldid=224677
(accessed 4 May 2010).
Thompson, Mark. "Kennington, Eric (Henri)." Grove Art
Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com (accessed 27 April, 2010).
Scope and Contents
The Eric Kennington Art Collection consists of forty-five drawings and prints
completed for T. E. Lawrence's 1926 edition of Seven Pillars
of Wisdom, and two bronze portrait sculptures of Lawrence. Five prints
are illustrations by other artists, including J. C. Clark and William Roberts.
A copy
of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom edition is available
in the Ransom Center Library (call number D 568.4 L4 1926).
Related Material
Related holdings in the Ransom Center's Art Collection include two 1918 portraits
of
Kennington by William Rothenstein in conté crayon in the William Rothenstein Art
Collection (accession numbers 65.282.1 and 65.282.2). Other artworks related to
Seven Pillars of Wisdom are present in the T.E.
Lawrence Art Collection (AR 00152).
