King’s College, Cambridge

Location

Country: Other
City: other locations abroad

n Edwin La Dell’s loosely worked composition, cartoon, stick-like figures glide along the river on punts, while others recline on the river bank, or go about their everyday business in front of the college. In the sky, seagulls, tree fronds and clouds are suggested but are almost indistinguishable, as La Dell here is interested in achieving an impressionistic overall effect of movement and time passing.

In the background, King’s College Chapel is clearly visible. A splendid example of late Gothic (Perpendicular) architecture, the chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world. The  design was instigated in 1446 by Henry VI (1421–71) and the chapel, which took over a century to build, has the largest fan vault ceiling in the world and some of the finest medieval stained glass. 

This lithograph is from the series Oxford and Cambridge Eight, commissioned from the artist by St. George’s Gallery in London. The striking, simple compositions show a kinship to La Dell’s earlier pictorial work for the Central Office of Information and decorative prints for coffee houses, canteens and pubs.

Born in Rotherham, Edwin La Dell won scholarships to Sheffield School of Art and the Royal College of Art (RCA), where he studied under John Nash and Percy Horton. Often using flat colour overlays, his work conveyed a strong sense of design as well as an interest in atmospheric effects. During the Second World War, he joined the Civil Defence Camouflage Establishment in Leamington Spa, working as a camouflage designer. He became involved with the Artists International Association and also submitted work to the War Artists Advisory Committee. In 1943, he was sent on active service, first in Belgium and then on the German Front. From 1946 to 1949, he produced paintings, lithographs and murals for the Central Office of Information. After the War, he continued making art and was employed as a teacher, initially working as a tutor at the RCA in 1948 before becoming Head of the Printmaking. In this role, his impact on post-war printmaking and future generations of printmakers was enormously influential. His works are represented in several public collections including Tate and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Places

England, Cambridgeshire

Subjects

topography, townscape/cityscape, river, man, woman, college, lawn, university, chapel, church, punt

Materials & Techniques

lithograph

Artist

Edwin La Dell (1914 - 1970)

Title

King’s College, Cambridge

Portfolio Title

The Oxford and Cambridge Eight

Edition

12/50

Date

1959

Medium

Lithograph

Dimensions

height: 42.50 cm, width: 62.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from St.George's Gallery, January 1962

GAC number

5704