- Eric Kennington
Eric Henri Kennington RA (
12 March 1888 -13 April 1960 ) was a British artist and sculptor, and an official war artist in both World Wars.Early life
He was born in
Chelsea, London , the son of the painterThomas Kennington . His father was a portrait painter and an active member of theNew English Art Club .He was educated at
St Paul's School and theLambeth School of Art .Career
Kennington first exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1908.At the start of
World War I , Kennington enlisted with the 13th (Kensington) Battalion London Regiment. He fought on theWestern Front , but was badly wounded and sent home in June 1915. During his convalescence, he produced "The Kensingtons at Laventie", a portrait of a group of infantrymen. When exhibited in the spring of 1916, its portrayal of exhausted soldiers caused a sensation. Kennington returned to the front in 1916 as an official war artist.Kennington regarded himself chiefly as a sculptor, creating a number of memorials, including one to his friend
T. E. Lawrence , He also produced the illustrations for Lawrence'sThe Seven Pillars of Wisdom . Kennington also created many pastel portraits and lithographs.Kennington again became an official war artist during the
World War II , personally commissioned to do work for theMinistry of Information byEdwin Embleton . Darracott and Loftus describe how in both wars "his drawings and letters show him to be an admirer of the heroism of ordinary men and women", an admiration which is particularly notable in the poster series "Seeing it Through".Kennington is buried in
Checkendon Cemetery, Oxfordshire, and is commemorated on a memorial inBrompton Cemetery , London.Personal life
In 1922, he married Edith Cecil, with whom he had a son and a daughter.
References
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1399 Works held by the Tate Gallery]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
