Sir Herbert James Gunn, R.A. (1893-1964)

The Duke of York's Column was erected in Waterloo Place in the 1830s as a memorial to King George IV's brother Frederick. The 124 foot Tuscan column was designed by Benjamin Wyatt and the statue of the Duke was modelled by Sir Richard Westmacott. The column was paid for largely by docking a day's pay from every soldier in the Army, of which the Duke was Commander-in-Chief.

The present work recalls an earlier painting by James Pryde (1866-1941) entitled, Construction or The Unveiling of the Duke of York's Column (The Viscount Cowdray). Pryde was a great friend of the artist and the subject of three of Gunn's portraits. (see James Pryde, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Exhibition Catalogue, 1992, no. 70, p. 102, pl. XVII).