CORONATION PICTURE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 79, 13 January 1940, Page 7

CORONATION PICTURE.

IN NATIONAL ART GALLERY.

A MAGNIFICENT PAINTING

(Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, January 12

A magnificent oil painting by Frank Salisbury, which was commissioned by the Prime Ministers of the five Dominions and presented to His Majesty the King, in remembrance of the great occasion of his coronation, is now hanging in the National Art Gallery, W ellington. Frank Salisbury was present in Westminster Abbey and started painting during the ceremony. He also made many sketches and studies of the subjects who are prominent in the picture. The canvas, which, measures 20 feet by 12 feet, shows the King seated on the Throne, wearing the crown and .receiving the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Queen is seated on the left, and is wearing her coronation robes. The light filters through the etained glass windows and shows up the blue and gold wall covering, which was specially manufactured for the coronation. The occupants of the Royal box are portrayed with great fidelity. ' The portrait of Queen Mary is exceptionally fine and those of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret 'Rose, the Duchess of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester, are all excellent. The rich robes arc beautifully painted, the colours blending and making a striking and lovely picture. The Prime Ministers of the Dominions are standing behind the Lord Chamberlain and the Rt. Hon. M, J. Savage is seen in court dress in profile. When Mrs Murray Fuller was in London she made a request that this painting be lent to New Zealand for the centennial art exhibition, arranged by the board of trustees of the National Art Gallery, 'Wellington. Hie King gave his consent for the picture to be sent to New Zealand. It had, in the meantime, been lent to the United Kingdom Hall at the New York Fair, and has come direct from New York to Wellington. It was carefully packed in a large case, another case. This had to be taken to the gallery on a special float and was unpacked in the grounds, as the case was too large to go through any of the doors. The frame came direct to 'Wellington from London, and was specially designed, with the coat-of-arms of each Dominion incorporated. When framed, the painting takes the whole of the wall on Gallery B, and is the largest oil painting in New Zealand.