Conversation piece (G.K. Chesterton; Maurice Baring; Hilaire Belloc)
10 of 75 portraits of G.K. Chesterton
Conversation piece (G.K. Chesterton; Maurice Baring; Hilaire Belloc)
by Sir James Gunn
oil on canvas, 1932
59 1/2 in. x 43 1/2 in. (1511 mm x 1105 mm)
Given by Mrs George Balfour, 1960
Primary Collection
NPG 3654
Sittersback to top
- Maurice Baring (1874-1945), Poet and author. Sitter in 13 portraits. Identify
- (Joseph) Hilaire Pierre Belloc (1870-1953), Author and poet. Sitter associated with 17 portraits. Identify
- Gilbert Keith ('G.K.') Chesterton (1874-1936), Poet, novelist and critic. Sitter in 75 portraits. Identify
Artistback to top
- Sir James Gunn (1893-1964), Painter. Artist or producer of 11 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
This portraitback to top
The idea for the portrait came to Gunn at a dinner to celebrate Belloc's 60th birthday; the completed work was shown at the Royal Academy in 1932.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 718
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1932back to top
Current affairs
Sir Oswald Mosley forms the British Union of Fascists. Mosley's party - nicknamed the Black Shirts after their uniform - was founded along the lines of Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy and called for the replacement of parliamentary democracy with a system of elected executives. During the war Mosley was interned and the BUF was proscribed.Art and science
John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton 'split the atom'. In fact, Cockcroft and Walton's achievement was to change the nucleus of one element into another by bombarding it with protons, rather than to literally spit an atom apart. Nevertheless 'splitting the atom' has become the popular way of describing this important stage in the development of nuclear technology.International
Saudi Arabia is formed by the unification of the Kingdoms of Hijaz and Nejd under King Abdul Aziz.Iraq is granted independence from the British mandate established by the League of Nations in 1919-20.
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