FDA-D.883-2013
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.883-2013
Object type
Identification
Title
The Unveiling of the Eton Memorial
Eton College - the unveiling of the Eton Memorial 6th Dec. 1921
Eton College - the unveiling of the Eton Memorial 6th Dec. 1921
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
Previous title
Previous title
Comments
Henry VI’s birthday, or Founder’s Day, is celebrated every year at Eton. Davison’s watercolour captures a particularly poignant Founder’s Day in December 1921, when the school community,
relatives and guests gathered for a memorial service for Old Etonians who had died in the First World War. On that day, a bronze frieze bearing the names of the fallen was unveiled under the colonnade in front of Upper School. This is almost certainly the painting exhibited by Davison at her usual Fourth of June exhibition the following year, when a reviewer for the Eton College Chronicle commented that the artist’s ‘impression of the Unveiling of the War Memorial should be mentioned as a successful attempt on a difficult theme’. Davison’s choice of a muted palette reflects the sombre nature of the occasion.
This work is probably that mentioned in the Eton Chronicle, when included on a Forth of June exhbition of works by Nora Davison and Mabel Spurrier:
'...Miss Davison's view of the altar in College Chapel is not without charm, and her impression of the Unveiling of the War Memorial should be mentioned as a successful attempt on a difficult theme.'
[Source: 'Exhibition of Sketches', Eton College Chronicle, 3 June 1922, No. 1813]
relatives and guests gathered for a memorial service for Old Etonians who had died in the First World War. On that day, a bronze frieze bearing the names of the fallen was unveiled under the colonnade in front of Upper School. This is almost certainly the painting exhibited by Davison at her usual Fourth of June exhibition the following year, when a reviewer for the Eton College Chronicle commented that the artist’s ‘impression of the Unveiling of the War Memorial should be mentioned as a successful attempt on a difficult theme’. Davison’s choice of a muted palette reflects the sombre nature of the occasion.
This work is probably that mentioned in the Eton Chronicle, when included on a Forth of June exhbition of works by Nora Davison and Mabel Spurrier:
'...Miss Davison's view of the altar in College Chapel is not without charm, and her impression of the Unveiling of the War Memorial should be mentioned as a successful attempt on a difficult theme.'
[Source: 'Exhibition of Sketches', Eton College Chronicle, 3 June 1922, No. 1813]
Other number
K415
Description
Content (place)
Eton College
Dimensions
height (actual size): 178mm
width (actual size): 314mm
height (sight size): 153mm
width (sight size): 287mm
width (actual size): 314mm
height (sight size): 153mm
width (sight size): 287mm
Inscription
Signed in watercolour, lower right: 'NORA DAVISON'
Old labels on back:
Inscribed on reverse: 'The Unveiling of Eton Memorial Dec 6th 1921'
'Nora Davison...' information
'Lot 511 16/10/1986'
'16 July 1986'
Old labels on back:
Inscribed on reverse: 'The Unveiling of Eton Memorial Dec 6th 1921'
'Nora Davison...' information
'Lot 511 16/10/1986'
'16 July 1986'
Materials & techniques note
Pencil and watercolour on paper
Physical description
Carved gilt frame, glazed
Production
Person
Davison, Nora, 1855 - 1950 (Artist)
Date
06/12/1921
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: Purchased by Eton College on 16 October 1986
Exhibited: ‘A Woman’s View: Nora Davison’s watercolours of Eton’, Verey Gallery, Eton College, 23 May to 28 September 2025 (catalogue number 30)
Exhibited: ‘A Woman’s View: Nora Davison’s watercolours of Eton’, Verey Gallery, Eton College, 23 May to 28 September 2025 (catalogue number 30)
