Kenneth Rowntree | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1915-03-14)14 March 1915 Scarborough, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 21 February 1997(1997-02-21) (aged 81) Hexham, Northumberland, England |
| Occupations | Artist, teacher |
| Notable work | Festival of BritainFreedom Mural |
| Spouse | Diana Rowntree |
Kenneth Rowntree (14 March 1915 – 21 February 1997) was an English artist.
Kenneth Rowntree was born inScarborough, the son of Howard Doncaster Rowntree (1879-1974).He was educated atBootham School, York.[1]
He studied at theRuskin School of Art, Oxford and went on to theSlade School of Fine Art.At the Slade he metEric Ravilious andEdward Bawden, moving to north Essex to work more closely with them.They became known – with others – as theGreat Bardfield Artists.
In 1939, he married architectDiana Rowntree (née Buckley) with whom he had two children.
During the Second World War, he worked for theWar Artists' Advisory Committee.He was one of more than 60 artists commissioned by the Government and financed by thePilgrim Trust to record the face of England and Wales before development or wartime destruction changed it.Recording Britain, as this project came to be known, covered a total of 36 counties.Kenneth Rowntree concentrated on capturing the essential character of old buildings and interiors in Bedfordshire, Essex, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Wales.
After the war he joined theRoyal College of Art as head of its mural painting studios.
In 1948,Penguin publishedA Prospect of Wales, including 40 of his illustrations.[2]
In 1951, he completed a major mural,Freedom, forThe Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion at theFestival of Britain.[3]
In 1953, he painted scenes along the processional route of theCoronation, with the Queen later acquiring some of his works.
In 1959, he was appointed to succeedLawrence Gowing as Professor of Fine Art atNewcastle University; it was one of the most progressive art schools in Britain, where the teaching staff includedVictor Pasmore andRichard Hamilton.He held this post until his retirement in 1980.
It was at Newcastle that he became receptive to various modernist idioms, such as assemblage and constructivist forms, and incorporated them in his own work. Amongst many other achievements, Kenneth Rowntree worked with the architectErnő Goldfinger to produce coloured glass panels in Goldfinger's Alexander Fleming House (nowMetro Central Heights) in the Elephant and Castle.[4]
Kenneth Rowntree died inHexham on 21 February 1997.[1]
