
Thomas Seaman
Specialist, Head of Sale
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Sold for £5,687.50 inc. premium
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Specialist, Head of Sale
Provenance
Sale, Christie's, London, The contents of the studio of the late Sir Gerald Kelly, 8 February 1980, lot 245. (1 of 3).
Private collection, UK.
The present lots are studies for the state portrait of King George VI which Sir Gerald Kelly was commissioned to paint before the outbreak of the Second World War. Work started on the portrait in June 1938 and as war commenced the canvases were transferred to the Windsor Castle. Progress was slow, and Kelly would eventually move into the castle to complete his commission using the Grand Reception Room as a studio. The portrait was finished in 1945 and Kelly was knighted later the same year.