London Town

Location

Country: Other
City: other locations abroad

'London Town' is a box construction of found images. On the left is the musical score cover of Sir Edward Elgar's 'Overture, Cockaigne (London Town)' and on the right are reproductions of late Victorian life. Like a visual foil, the red block unites the scenes, and the collaged images complement the score's grid of drawings.

Elgar's 'Overture' was composed in 1901, in the late Victorian era when London epitomised Britain's imperial success. The word 'Cockaigne' derives from the old English name for an imaginary land of plenty and is supposedly the source of 'Cockney' - the iconic London resident.

Graham Arnold was born in Sydenham, south London and as a child attended weekend classes at Hornsey School of Art. In 1944-47 he studied at Beckenham Technical College, and later at Beckenham Art School (1947-52) where he was awarded the David Murray Landscape Prize from the Royal Academy Schools. During the 1950s he travelled extensively in Europe and Asia; and on his return to England, he studied at the Royal College of Art from 1955-58. Arnold is best known as one of ‘The Brotherhood of Ruralists’, an artistic group that he set up with six other artists in 1971. They defined themselves as urban citizens who moved to the West Country to embrace self-sufficiency and country life. The Brotherhood were highly influenced by the figurative and spiritual painting of Stanley Spencer, and Arnold himself also cited the early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca as a seminal influence. In 1992 a major retrospective of over 120 of his paintings, drawings and constructions was held in Powys, Wales.

People

Sir Edward, Baronet Elgar (1857 - 1934)

Places

England, River Thames, London, Royal Courts of Justice, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul's Cathedral, Palace of Westminster, St. James's Park, City of London, Regent Street, Westminster

Subjects

carriage, horseback, hansom cab, bus, drum (as subject), composer, classical music, musical score, statue (as Subject), painting (as Subject), archery, target, male portrait, townscape/cityscape, wing, dog, horse, river, face, moustache, man, woman, crowd, armour, military uniform, bearskin, helmet, backpack, coat of arms, Knight, parade, spear, shield, bow & arrow, soldier, guardsman, angel, street, bridge (urban), cathedral, bell tower, column, clock tower, tower

Materials & Techniques

wood, construction, collage, box (as object component)

Artist

Graham Arnold (1932 - 2019)

Title

London Town

Date

1979

Medium

Compartmented box construction with collage

Dimensions

height: 48.20 cm, width: 30.80 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Simon Hilton Ltd, September 2001

Inscription

inscribed verso on backing sheet

Provenance

Patrick Farndale 1986; purchased from Simon Hilton Ltd September 2001.

GAC number

17635