ERIC KENNINGTON Portrait of Alice Mary Rothenstein.
Color pastels on bluish gray paper, circa 1920. 485x350mm; 19 1/4x13 3/4 inches.
Provenance: Private collection, New York.
Kennington (1888-1960) was an English official war artist during both World War I and II. He was enlisted in World War I and fought on the Western Front, but was sent back to England in January of 1915 due to an injury. The bulk of his artwork focused on the lives of soldiers and airmen, serving as a visual memory recorder of the hardships endured. In the interwar years, he created book illustrations and portraits, such as this one of Alice Mary Rothenstein.
Alice Mary Rothenstein (1869-1955) was married to William Rothenstein (1872-1945), another English war artist who Kennington befriended during his time working in France during World War I. They were both appointed to document front line scenes at Montigny Farm and Devise on the Somme, where they came under enemy attack. When Kennington returned to London in March of 1918, he had around 170 charcoal, pastel, and watercolor drawings from his time in France. Alice Mary Rothenstein was an actress, who presumably posed for this drawing when Kennington returned to England after World War I.
