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Lot Essay
‘I have driven locomotives a lot in many parts of the world ... I think to paint engines, one has really got to drive them ... by driving the thing and realising that your puny hands can control this monster … the mere fact of being saturated with this thought makes you paint them correctly, makes you paint their weight and their power’.
- Terence Cuneo (in an interview with James Mellen, IWM Oral History, 1978, Cat no. 3817, Reel 4, 02:48-03:40)
Terence Cuneo is probably best known for his railway paintings. In the mid-1920s Cuneo had his first experience of driving a steam-engine – a day which left a lasting imprint on his mind and stirred a passion to last him a lifetime.
The Royal Duchy: King George V storms up the grade out of Dainton Tunnel depicts the Great Western Railway steam locomotive King George V No. 6000, King class, designed by Charles B. Collett in 1927. It regularly serviced the line between London Paddington and Penzance until its withdrawal in 1961. Upon its completion it was one of the most powerful locomotives able to haul a train of 13+ carriages.
The famous Cornish Riviera Express was a subject dear to Cuneo’s heart who chose it as the first of five depicted lines for the Royal Mail stamps designed for the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway in 1985 (N. Chakra, Terence Cuneo Railway Painter of the Century, London, 1990, p. 10). Painted four years later, the present work recalls a similar composition to the one used for the Cornish Express stamp with the engine emerging from the tunnel near the South Devon Banks.
While the stamp views 'King Richard III 6015' in full motion, with less focus on detail, the engine here is depicted with a low viewpoint and shortened foreground allowing Cuneo to fully explore its distinctive features. Carefully painted at the centre of the composition is ‘The Royal Duchy’ sign written in typical brown letters on cream background with the crest of ‘Duchy of Cornwall’. Shining below is the bell presented at the Baltimore Ohio Railroad’s centenary exhibition in 1927. Proudly occupying the centre of the composition, enjoying a very privileged view, is also Cuneo’s famous mouse – a feature in all his paintings since 1952. An illusion of movement is masterfully created through the juxtaposition of fluid colour areas of light and dark in the shades of smoke set against the clear blue sky of this crisp winter day. Omitting a coastline landscape for the background, the artist fully focusses on celebrating this remarkably powerful locomotive its full might and glory.
The Royal Duchy: King George V storms up the grade out of Dainton Tunnel is amongst the finest examples of Cuneo’s railway work, truly showcasing his dedication to capture the last years of the steam era.
- Terence Cuneo (in an interview with James Mellen, IWM Oral History, 1978, Cat no. 3817, Reel 4, 02:48-03:40)
Terence Cuneo is probably best known for his railway paintings. In the mid-1920s Cuneo had his first experience of driving a steam-engine – a day which left a lasting imprint on his mind and stirred a passion to last him a lifetime.
The Royal Duchy: King George V storms up the grade out of Dainton Tunnel depicts the Great Western Railway steam locomotive King George V No. 6000, King class, designed by Charles B. Collett in 1927. It regularly serviced the line between London Paddington and Penzance until its withdrawal in 1961. Upon its completion it was one of the most powerful locomotives able to haul a train of 13+ carriages.
The famous Cornish Riviera Express was a subject dear to Cuneo’s heart who chose it as the first of five depicted lines for the Royal Mail stamps designed for the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway in 1985 (N. Chakra, Terence Cuneo Railway Painter of the Century, London, 1990, p. 10). Painted four years later, the present work recalls a similar composition to the one used for the Cornish Express stamp with the engine emerging from the tunnel near the South Devon Banks.
While the stamp views 'King Richard III 6015' in full motion, with less focus on detail, the engine here is depicted with a low viewpoint and shortened foreground allowing Cuneo to fully explore its distinctive features. Carefully painted at the centre of the composition is ‘The Royal Duchy’ sign written in typical brown letters on cream background with the crest of ‘Duchy of Cornwall’. Shining below is the bell presented at the Baltimore Ohio Railroad’s centenary exhibition in 1927. Proudly occupying the centre of the composition, enjoying a very privileged view, is also Cuneo’s famous mouse – a feature in all his paintings since 1952. An illusion of movement is masterfully created through the juxtaposition of fluid colour areas of light and dark in the shades of smoke set against the clear blue sky of this crisp winter day. Omitting a coastline landscape for the background, the artist fully focusses on celebrating this remarkably powerful locomotive its full might and glory.
The Royal Duchy: King George V storms up the grade out of Dainton Tunnel is amongst the finest examples of Cuneo’s railway work, truly showcasing his dedication to capture the last years of the steam era.