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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Eng 1658

Eric Kennington collection of artwork for T. E. Lawrence's Seven pillars of wisdom

Overview

Painting and drawings by British artisits for T.E. Lawrence's Seven pillars of wisdom.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1923

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Conditions Governing Use

Photocopying restricted due to fragility of material.

Copyright:

Copyright in the Kennington works was given to the Library by Christopher Kennington in 1997.

Extent

5 linear feet (1 portfolio box, 5 framed items)

Collection consists of original artwork in pastel, pen and ink, pencil, and watercolor, as well as reproductions in various media. The majority of the pieces in this collection were created by Eric Kennington; one is a reproduction of a well known portrait in pencil by Augustus John; and T. E. Lawrence also produced the small pen and ink drawing. Some titles were given by the artists and/or art dealers; those supplied by the cataloger are given in square brackets.

Biographical / Historical

Eric Kennington was a painter and sculptor, a member of the Royal Academy and an official war artist commissioned by the British government in both world wars. He was a close friend of T. E. Lawrence and produced several portraits of him, in both paint and sculpture.Augustus John first drew Lawrence at the Paris peace talks in 1919. He produced a number of portraits of Lawrence over his lifetime, in a variety of media. T. E. Lawrence was also skilled draftsman and produced a drawing in this collection. It was most probably never intended to be included in his Seven pillars of wisdom, the magnum opus for which he commissioned much artwork from a number of contemporary British artists, but it was included in the Kilgour gift and is therefore listed here.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by author, thereunder by title.

Physical Location

pf, vertical pf

Immediate Source of Acquisition

86M-114. Gift of Mr. Bayard L. Kilgour, Jr.; received: 1966 April. Presented between 1958 and 1966.

98M-48. Gift of Mr. Bayard L. Kilgour, Jr.; received: 1966 April. Presented between 1958 and 1966.

Bibliography

For more on the genesis and publication history of Seven pillars of wisdom, see the following: Wilson, Jeremy. T.E. Lawrence. London: National Portrait Gallery, 1988.
  • Wilson, Jeremy. T.E. Lawrence. London: National Portrait Gallery, 1988.

Processing Information

Processed by: Michael W. Austin

Title
Kennington, Eric, 1888-1960. Eric Kennington collection of artwork for T. E. Lawrence's Seven pillars of wisdom, 1921-1923: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou02100

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440