Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

by Sir Gerald Kelly
oil on canvas, 1940
36 1/4 in. x 25 in. (921 mm x 635 mm)
Purchased, 1980
Primary Collection
NPG 5287

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Sir Gerald Kelly (1879-1972), Painter and President of the Royal Academy. Artist or producer associated with 27 portraits, Sitter in 11 portraits.

This portraitback to top

One of many sketches Kelly made during the war for his state portrait of Queen Elizabeth (1945). The setting is Government House, Delhi, painted from a model supplied by Sir Edward Lutyens. The King and Queen, remaining in London during the Blitz greatly raised the morale of Londoners.

Linked publicationsback to top

Placesback to top

  • Place portrayed: India (Government House, Delhi, India)

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1940back to top

Current affairs

Following the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, Neville Chamberlain resigns and Churchill is appointed Prime Minister making the famous speech: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.'
The Battle of Britain ends the Phoney War with Germany's attack on the nation from the air. Britain's cities, airbases and ports are bombed during the Blitz.

Art and science

With little access to sculpture materials, and a bombed out studio Henry Moore starts experimenting with drawings of war subjects. After taking shelter in a London Underground station during an air raid Moore was inspired to begin a series of Shelter Drawings. With a commission from the War Artists Advisory Committee, headed by Kenneth Clark, these became some of the most popular example of official war art.

International

Britain's attempt to defend France against German invasion by landing troops on the French coast ends in failure; France surrenders and Britain is left to face the Axis Powers alone. While the Dunkirk Landings were a failure, the heroic rescue of troops by a fleet of English civilian boats was a victory for morale, and the 'Dunkirk Spirit' came to stand as an emblem of British triumph in adversity.

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Martin Hopkinson

15 August 2020, 14:12

Present Day Painters in Oil , Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery, Bournemouth , 30 September - 1 December 1949 no 814 was another version priced at £1000