In a recent Daily Telegraph article entitled ‘Why I love to paint London’, Rolf Harris was described as a ‘copper-bottomed national treasure’. Despite the fact that Rolf’s Australian roots are still very much in evidence, he has an amazing affinity for the UK, and this is never more obvious than in his magnificent paintings of his adopted country.
In his book ‘A Life in Art’, Rolf explains his great affection for these scenes: “When I first arrived in England, the fog and mist were a real novelty to me, especially when the ‘pea-soupers’ started rolling in during the mid-fifties. I loved the way that you could determine how far away any object was from you by the variation in tones of grey. This typically English weather was a delight to paint and I’ve retained my childish wonder at these magical scenes. From the moment I arrived, I loved the skeletal shapes of leafless trees, the way the various tones of those misty greys pinpointed the position of each tree in the landscape. The effect of looking into the bright winter sun and seeing the great areas of blue-grey buildings or the clumps of leafless trees against the distant sky, just thrilled me, and still does.”
This stunning new release portrays one of London’s most iconic landmarks, but in typical Rolf style, it is presented as a part of the city as a whole. As he himself points out, “I do see myself as a chronicler of life, in London in particular”, and rather than placing the majestic building in the foreground, he shows it overlooking the benches and lampposts that are part of the familiar London landscape.
Click here to view more detail on St Paul's Cathedral in the Snow