Trees at the Somme

Kennington was born in 1888, the son of the painter Thomas Kennington. He attended St. Pauls School of Art and then studied at the Lambeth College. Kennington served as a private in the 13th London Regiment, the Kensingtons. He served in Flanders and France before being wounded and sent home in June 1915. He was subsequently invalided out of the Army. In August 1917 Kennington was employed by the War Propaganda Bureau and commissioned to produce pictures of the Western Front. His paintings at this time include Gassed and Wounded, The Die-Hards and Back to Billets. The present work was executed in 1919.