In 1939, he married architect Diana Rowntree (née Buckley) with whom he had two children.
During the Second World War, he worked for the War Artists' Advisory Committee. He was one of more than 60 artists commissioned by the Government and financed by the Pilgrim Trust to record the face of England and Wales before development or wartime destruction changed it. Recording Britain, as this project came to be known, covered a total of 36 counties. Kenneth Rowntree concentrated on capturing the essential character of old buildings and interiors in Bedfordshire, Essex, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Wales.
After the war he joined the Royal College of Art as head of its mural painting studios.
In 1948, Penguin published A Prospect of Wales, including 40 of his illustrations.[2]
In 1951, he completed a major mural, Freedom, for The Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion at the Festival of Britain.[3]
In 1953, he painted scenes along the processional route of the Coronation, with the Queen later acquiring some of his works.
In 1959, he was appointed to succeed Lawrence Gowing as Professor of Fine Art at Newcastle University; it was one of the most progressive art schools in Britain, where the teaching staff included Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton. He held this post until his retirement in 1980.
It was at Newcastle that he became receptive to various modernist idioms, such as assemblage and constructivist forms, and incorporated them in his own work. Amongst many other achievements, Kenneth Rowntree worked with the architect Ernő Goldfinger to produce coloured glass panels in Goldfinger's Alexander Fleming House (now Metro Central Heights) in the Elephant and Castle. [4]
Kenneth Rowntree died in Hexham on 21 February 1997.[1]
References
^ abRichard Calvocoressi (5 March 1997). "Obituary: Kenneth Rowntree". The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
^Gwyn Jones (1948). A Prospect of Wales. Penguin Books.
^"Kenneth Rowntree with his Freedom Mural". The National Archives. 1951. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
36 artworks by or after Kenneth Rowntree at the Art UK site
The Rowntree Society - Kenneth Rowntree
The Fry Art Gallery - Kenneth Rowntree
'Recording Britain' collection at the V&A
January 04, 2023
kenneth, rowntree, march, 1915, february, 1997, british, artist, born, 1915, march, 1915scarborough, yorkshire, englanddied21, february, 1997, 1997, aged, hexham, northumberland, englandoccupation, artist, teachernotable, workfestival, britain, freedom, murals. Kenneth Rowntree 14 March 1915 21 February 1997 was a British artist Kenneth RowntreeBorn 1915 03 14 14 March 1915Scarborough Yorkshire EnglandDied21 February 1997 1997 02 21 aged 81 Hexham Northumberland EnglandOccupation s Artist teacherNotable workFestival of Britain Freedom MuralSpouseDiana RowntreeCareer and life EditKenneth Rowntree was born in Scarborough the son of Howard Doncaster Rowntree 1879 1974 He was educated at Bootham School York 1 He studied at the Ruskin School of Art Oxford and went on to the Slade School of Fine Art At the Slade he met Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden moving to north Essex to work more closely with them They became known with others as the Great Bardfield Artists In 1939 he married architect Diana Rowntree nee Buckley with whom he had two children During the Second World War he worked for the War Artists Advisory Committee He was one of more than 60 artists commissioned by the Government and financed by the Pilgrim Trust to record the face of England and Wales before development or wartime destruction changed it Recording Britain as this project came to be known covered a total of 36 counties Kenneth Rowntree concentrated on capturing the essential character of old buildings and interiors in Bedfordshire Essex Yorkshire Derbyshire and Wales After the war he joined the Royal College of Art as head of its mural painting studios In 1948 Penguin published A Prospect of Wales including 40 of his illustrations 2 In 1951 he completed a major mural Freedom for The Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion at the Festival of Britain 3 In 1953 he painted scenes along the processional route of the Coronation with the Queen later acquiring some of his works In 1959 he was appointed to succeed Lawrence Gowing as Professor of Fine Art at Newcastle University it was one of the most progressive art schools in Britain where the teaching staff included Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton He held this post until his retirement in 1980 It was at Newcastle that he became receptive to various modernist idioms such as assemblage and constructivist forms and incorporated them in his own work Amongst many other achievements Kenneth Rowntree worked with the architect Erno Goldfinger to produce coloured glass panels in Goldfinger s Alexander Fleming House now Metro Central Heights in the Elephant and Castle 4 Kenneth Rowntree died in Hexham on 21 February 1997 1 References Edit a b Richard Calvocoressi 5 March 1997 Obituary Kenneth Rowntree The Independent Retrieved 26 September 2020 Gwyn Jones 1948 A Prospect of Wales Penguin Books Kenneth Rowntree with his Freedom Mural The National Archives 1951 Retrieved 6 May 2019 Historic England Metro Central Heights 1405570 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 11 November 2018 External links Edit36 artworks by or after Kenneth Rowntree at the Art UK site The Rowntree Society Kenneth Rowntree The Fry Art Gallery Kenneth Rowntree Recording Britain collection at the V amp A Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kenneth Rowntree amp oldid 1111085825, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
