FDA-P.282-2010
Parts
Object number
FDA-P.282-2010
Object type
Identification
Title
His Majesty King George VI Conferring the Order of Knighthood upon Sir Henry Marten
His Majesty King George VI conferring the Order of Knighthood upon Sir Henry Marten, Provost, on the steps of College Chapel, March 4 1945
His Majesty King George VI conferring the Order of Knighthood upon Sir Henry Marten, Provost, on the steps of College Chapel, March 4 1945
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
Previous title
Previous title
Description
Painted view of a ceremony in a school yard; steps to a chapel to the right; red brick buildings in the distance
Comments
'In the Macnaghten Library on St. Andrew's Day, L.t-Gen Sir Oliver Leese, Bt., K.C.B., presented to Eton on behalf of the Old Etonian Association, the picture of the Royal Visit to Eton on March 4, 1945, when the Provost was knighted. Sir Oliver, in making the presentation, expressed the regret which all shared that Lt.-Col. J. J. Astor, the Chairman of the O.E.A. Committee, was unable through illness to be present; for it was due to his initiative and that of Major- General Sir Hereward Wake and Sir Jasper Ridley that the picture was painted. In presenting the picture to the Provost, Sir Oliver referred to his services to many past generations of Etonians. The Provost accepted the picture on behalf of the Eton Authorities, and expressed their thanks, and in so doing said how pleased they were to see Sir Oliver back after his campaigns in many parts of the world…
The picture, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy of this year, is by Mr. R. E. Eurich, A.R.A., whose "Dunkirk Beach" is familiar to many. On the platform of Chapel Steps are seen The King, The Queen, the two Princesses, with Sir Piers Legh, the Master of the Household, in attendance, and the King is in the act of knighting the Provost. In the foreground are the Head Master and the Lower Master. The Chapel steps are flanked by the Choristers of the College and Lower Chapels, making, in their scarlet cassocks, a bright patch of colour against the grey walls. On the steps can be recognised three Fellows of the College (the Provost of King's and Dr. Stewart in surplices and Sir Jasper Ridley in a gown), the Private Secretary to The King (Sir Alan Lascelles), the Private Secretary to the Queen and also the Steward of our Courts (Major Arthur Penn), the Precentor (Dr. Henry Ley) in his Doctor of Music robes, and the Conduct (Mr. Greenup). In the School Yard Mr. Eurich has succeeded in showing a very large proportion of the boys, the black coats of the Oppidans being relieved by the surplices of the Collegers. He has not succeeded, of course, in getting in all the boys, and one junior member of the School, on seeing the picture, was heard to exclaim, rather resentfully, "He has not got me in!" It may be of interest to know that coloured reproductions of the picture have been made through the O.E.A., and can be obtained at the School Bookshop (formerly Spottiswoode & Co., and now Alden & Blackwell)…’
[Source: ‘Presentation of the Painting of the Royal Visit on March 4, 1945.’, The Eton College Chronicle, 5 December 1946, number 2758, p.2083]
The picture, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy of this year, is by Mr. R. E. Eurich, A.R.A., whose "Dunkirk Beach" is familiar to many. On the platform of Chapel Steps are seen The King, The Queen, the two Princesses, with Sir Piers Legh, the Master of the Household, in attendance, and the King is in the act of knighting the Provost. In the foreground are the Head Master and the Lower Master. The Chapel steps are flanked by the Choristers of the College and Lower Chapels, making, in their scarlet cassocks, a bright patch of colour against the grey walls. On the steps can be recognised three Fellows of the College (the Provost of King's and Dr. Stewart in surplices and Sir Jasper Ridley in a gown), the Private Secretary to The King (Sir Alan Lascelles), the Private Secretary to the Queen and also the Steward of our Courts (Major Arthur Penn), the Precentor (Dr. Henry Ley) in his Doctor of Music robes, and the Conduct (Mr. Greenup). In the School Yard Mr. Eurich has succeeded in showing a very large proportion of the boys, the black coats of the Oppidans being relieved by the surplices of the Collegers. He has not succeeded, of course, in getting in all the boys, and one junior member of the School, on seeing the picture, was heard to exclaim, rather resentfully, "He has not got me in!" It may be of interest to know that coloured reproductions of the picture have been made through the O.E.A., and can be obtained at the School Bookshop (formerly Spottiswoode & Co., and now Alden & Blackwell)…’
[Source: ‘Presentation of the Painting of the Royal Visit on March 4, 1945.’, The Eton College Chronicle, 5 December 1946, number 2758, p.2083]
Other number
CL25
Description
Content (person)
Content (place)
Eton College
Dimensions
height (frame): 1230mm
width (frame): 1490mm
depth (frame): 96mm
height (sight size): 1003mm
width (sight size): 1260mm
width (frame): 1490mm
depth (frame): 96mm
height (sight size): 1003mm
width (sight size): 1260mm
Inscription
Signed and dated: 'R Eurich 1945-6'
ID label on frame
ID label on frame
Materials & techniques note
Oil on canvas
Physical description
Carved wooden frame
Production
Person
Eurich, Richard (R. A.), 1903 - 1992 (Artist)
Date
1945-1946
History and association
Associated object
FDA-E.3350-2026 (print after original painting)
Object history note
Provenance: Presented to Eton College by Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese (President) on behalf of the Old Etonian Association in c.1946
Exhibited: 'Bradford Artist's Exhibition', City of Bradford Art Gallery, 1951
Exhibited: 'Bradford Artist's Exhibition', City of Bradford Art Gallery, 1951
