Eric Kennington
| Eric Kennington | |
|---|---|
An Infantryman Resting (1916)
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| Born |
Eric Henri Kennington 12 March 1888 Chelsea, London, England, UK |
| Died | 13 April 1960 (aged 72) Reading, Berkshire, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Lambeth School of Art |
| Known for | Painting, sculpture |
Eric Henri Kennington RA (12 March 1888 – 13 April 1960) was an English sculptor, artist and illustrator, and an official war artist in both World Wars.
As a war artist, Kennington specialised in depictions of the daily hardships endured by soldiers and airmen. In the inter-war years he worked mostly on portraits and a number of book illustrations. The most notable of his book illustrations were for T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Kennington was also a gifted sculptor, best known for his 1926 monument, in Battersea Park, to the 24th Division, for his work on the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and for the tomb effigy of Lawrence at Wareham in Dorset.
Kennington was born in Chelsea, London, the second son of the well-known genre and portrait painter, Thomas Benjamin Kennington (1856–1916), a founder member of the New English Art Club. He was educated at St Paul's School and the Lambeth School of Art. Kennington first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1908. At the International Society in April 1914 Kennington exhibited a series of paintings and drawings of costermongers which sold well and allowed him to set up a studio off Kensington High Street in London.
At the start of World War I, Kennington enlisted with the 13th (Kensington) Battalion London Regiment on 6 August 1914,. He fought on the Western Front, but was wounded in January 1915 and evacuated back to England. Kennington was injured while attempting to clear a friend's jammed rifle and he lost one toe and was fortunate not to lose a foot due to infection. He spent four months in hospital before being discharged as unfit in June 1915. During his convalescence, he spent six months painting The Kensingtons at Laventie, a group portrait of his own infantry platoon, Platoon No 7, 'C' Company. Kennington himself is the figure third from the left, wearing a balaclava. When exhibited in the spring of 1916, its portrayal of exhausted soldiers caused a sensation. Painted in reverse on glass, the painting is now in the Imperial War Museum and was widely praised for its technical virtuosity, iconic colour scheme, and its "stately presentation of human endurance, of the quiet heroism of the rank and file".
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