Coronation Fireworks

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Marking the end of celebrations on Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation day on 2 June 1953, a vivid flash of orange, red and blue bursts on to the night sky in this scene featuring London’s River Thames by Frederick Gore. The bright lights of the firework display are reflected in the water of the river in front of the distinctive building of the Festival Hall, between Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges. Further to the right Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament loom in the dark.

Through his focus on colour and light, Gore expressed his admiration for the landscapes of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, notably Vincent Van Gogh. His emphasis on intense colour and an intuitive, emotional response to nature also shows the influence of French Fauvist artists such as André Derain (1880–1954) and Raoul Dufy (1877–1953). 

Frederick Gore studied painting at the Ruskin School while reading classics at Oxford. He later studied at Westminster Art School and the Slade School, and on leaving in 1937 he had his first solo exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London. After serving in the army he started teaching at St Martin's School of Art and by 1951 was Head of Painting there - a position he held until he retired in 1979. Gore was elected Associate of Royal Academy in 1964 and RA in 1973. Since 1949 he has held a number of solo exhibitions in London and New York. His father was the painter Spencer Frederick Gore (1878-1914), a central figure in the Camden Town Group of artists.

Places

England, River Thames, London, Waterloo Bridge, Lambeth: Lead Works Shot Tower, Westminster Bridge, Southwark, Hungerford Bridge, South Bank, Royal Festival Hall, County Hall

Subjects

bus, topography, history painting, townscape/cityscape, night, river, celebration, fireworks, coronation, bridge (urban), opera house/theatre, government building, palace, dome

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Frederick Gore (1913 - 2009)

Title

Coronation Fireworks

Date

1953

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 60.80 cm, width: 82.80 cm

Acquisition

Origin uncertain

Inscription

none

GAC number

10645