London for a day

As part of The Prize for Illustration 2015: London Places and Spaces exhibition, we've asked our participating artists to tell us what their perfect day in London would be and what the inspiration was behind their illustration. We’ll be sharing these with you throughout the exhibition which is open until 6 September 2015.

Continuing the series we have artist and illustrator Carly Allen-Fletcher, who won second prize with ‘Compound City’ (above);

A DAY IN LONDON 

My top tip for a day out in London would be to start with a visit to the National Galleries on Trafalgar square, then enjoy a a wander around the boutiques and cafes of Soho and Covent garden. Walk off your lunch with a trip down the Thames embankment to Tate Britain for some culture, then finish the day up with a stroll along the South Bank as the sun sets.

INSPIRATION 

The inspiration for my illustration was a day out in the city, and how all the separate elements of that trip combined to form a London experience. A trip to Hyde park in the sunshine, a walk amongst the towering blue-toned office blocks of the financial district, travelling amongst the crowds on the tube, and the skyline along the South Bank illuminated at dusk.

London for a day

As part of The Prize for Illustration: London Places and Spaces exhibition, we've asked our participating artists to tell us what their perfect day in London would be and what the inspiration was behind their illustration. We’ll be sharing these with you throughout the exhibition which is open until 6 September 2015.

To kick it off the series we have artist and illustrator David Humphries who submitted ‘Sancturary’ to the current exhibition (above);

A DAY IN LONDON

My top tip for visiting London is a trip to the India Club at the Strand Continental on the Strand (very close to Somerset House). Climb the creaking narrow stairway into an Indian time warp from the 50's. Portraits of Nehru and Gandhi decorate the walls. Authentic home cooked south Indian food. Drink in the India club bar downstairs, or bring your own beer.

INSPIRATION

London is a busy place. Tiny green squares dot the capital, and provide an oasis of calm.

OBJECT IN FOCUS

Elizabeth Scott, Head Curator

I've selected the poster We Londoners by Dorrit Dekk, produced in 1961 for my Object in Focus as Dorrit sadly passed away on 29 December 2014 at the age of 97, so I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate and explore her work.

The text at the bottom of the poster says the figures are a display of London Transports ‘more decorative passengers for the interest of the more soberly dressed’. When you look at the figures they really are decorative and quite an eclectic bunch.

The text also says ‘No prizes are offered for naming these types correctly…’ and it’s probably a good thing because most people would be hard pushed to identify all of the figures, and this intrigued me to take a closer look at the poster.

We have two annotated postcards of the poster in the collection. Someone has taken the time to identify the figures, some of them are quite obvious such as the Pearly King and Queen, Yeoman and Judge, however there are figures which are a lot harder to identify and have a question mark beside them.

We also have a letter sent from Harold Hutchinson, then Publicity Officer for London Transport, to Dorrit on 10 May 1960. The letter lists some suggestions for ‘Londoners in uniform’ to be included in the poster.

Looking at the list and cross-referencing it with the poster and annotated postcards, only seven of those suggested actually feature in the final poster. Dorrit has included many other figures which are not listed and she has selected some not so obvious and rather unique Londoners in uniform. This is one of the things I like about the poster; all the figures are unique to London.

The original artwork for the poster shows the figures in more vibrant colours; however it is still rather tricky trying to identify some of them.

On the annotated postcards the figure in the blue and white striped sweater and hat is labelled ‘Swan Upper’. I wasn’t familiar with this kind of uniform, after some research I found out that Swan Upping is the annual census of the swan population on stretches of the Thames. It’s a historic ceremony that dates from the 12th century when the Crown claimed ownership of all swans.

Nowadays the Queen owns swans on certain stretches of the Thames and this ownership is shared with the Worshipful Company of Vintners’ and Dyers’. ‘Vintners Royalty’ is written across the figures sweater which supports the view that the figure represents Swan Upping. However, Swan Uppers usually wear traditional scarlet uniforms and this figure is in blue and white stripes, so he still requires further research.

This poster is fun and attractive but as I have found by looking a little more closely at it, it is also intriguing and puzzling in a good way. It’s like a game of guess the number of uniforms. With this in mind and if you are so inclined, you can take up the challenge of identifying the figures, just remember, there are no prizes for getting them right!