Coronation Procession Returning to Buckingham Palace

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2 Marsham Street

As the Golden State Coach travels through Carel Weight’s painting of the coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, we see the hundreds of spectators lining the route. The red jackets and distinctive black hats of the Coldstream Guards form a line in front of the coach, while the Queen Victoria Memorial dominates the mid distance.

Weight captures the moment when the Queen returned from her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. The weather, which had been especially gloomy that day, did not deter the waiting crowds who remained resolutely upbeat. Weight was one of a number of artists (including Dame Laura Knight, Edwin La Dell and Feliks Topolski) who were commissioned by the then Ministry of Works to record the Coronation. 

Like Stanley Spencer, a painter who he much admired, Weight was part of an English narrative tradition that captured scenes of life, often with a sense of heightened emotion. His views of suburban life were sometimes inspired by topical news subjects for example, paintings alluding to tragedies such as a fun-fair accident in Battersea Park. He also painted religious scenes - among his several commissions was a large mural for Manchester Cathedral. 

Carel Weight was born in London, where he studied at Hammersmith College of Art (1928 -1930), and at Goldsmiths College (1931-1933). He was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1931 and held his first solo show in 1934 at the Cooling Galleries, London.  As an Official War Artist during the Second World War, he produced many works while posted in Austria, Italy and Greece. After the War he taught at the Royal College of Art, becoming Professor of Painting in 1957. He was awarded a CBE in 1962, was elected a Royal Academician in 1965 and a Companion of Honour in 1995.

Carel Weight was born in London. His grandfather came from Hamburg (and was, according to the artist, the first professional chiropodist ever to come to England). Weight studied at Hammersmith College of Art from 1928–30 and at Goldsmiths College from 1931–33. During the Second World War he was an Official War Artist, at the instigation of Kenneth (later Lord) Clark, a close friend with whom he frequently discussed art and history. As a War Artist, Weight visited Austria, Italy and Greece, and the Government Art Collection owns a number of works painted by him at this time. After the War, he taught at the Royal College of Art, becoming Professor of Painting in 1957. He exhibited internationally and is represented in many public collections. A retrospective exhibition of Weight’s work was held in 1982 at the Royal Academy, followed by a smaller show there in 1988 to mark his eightieth birthday. In 1995 a retrospective exhibition of his work as an Official War Artist was held at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Places

England, London, Buckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial, Westminster

Subjects

horseback, Gold State Coach, statue (as Subject), topography, townscape/cityscape, tree, wing, horse, rain, crowd, celebration, military uniform, tunic, bearskin, flag, royal footman, Queen, parade, soldier, guardsman, angel, coronation, gate, railing, street, monument, palace, plinth (represented)

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Carel Weight (1908 - 1997)

Title

Coronation Procession Returning to Buckingham Palace

Date

June 1953

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 88.50 cm, width: 112.00 cm

Acquisition

Commissioned from the artist via the Royal College of Art, April 1953

Inscription

tr: Carel Weight / June 1953

GAC number

2510