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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case DR, Shelf 105

Design for store decoration

Design
ca. 1953 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This design is by Edward Bawden (born Braintree 1903; died Saffron Walden, Essex 1989) who taught at the Royal College of Art from 1933 and Richard Guyatt (born La Coruña, Spain, 1914; died Ham, Wiltshire, 2007) who was Professor of Graphic Arts at the same college. The design shows a perspective view of the Oxford Street frontage of Selfridges department store with proposed decorations for the doorway and windows to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

This drawing is one of three for the Coronation decoration of Selfridges' exterior by these artists in the collection of the V&A. Ephemeral in nature, the drawing shows the way in which the Coronation celebrations engaged participants from a range of British design practice linking them to the commercial enterprise of Oxford Street.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDesign for store decoration (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on paper
Brief description
Edward Bawden & Richard Guyatt; Selfridges department store, Oxford Street, London, Design for the store for the 1953 Coronation, ca. 1953
Physical description
Design, a perspective view of the Oxford Street frontage of Selfridges showing proposed decorations for the doorway and windows for the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
Dimensions
  • Frame height: 63.2cm
  • Frame width: 75.5cm
Production typeDesign
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Edward Bawden / & / Richard Guyatt' (Signatures of each artist in pencil at bottom right.)
  • 'QUEEN / LONG MAY SHE REIGN' (Part of the saying 'God save the Queen' etc.)
Object history
This is a design to decorate the front of Selfridges department store to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This design is by Edward Bawden (born Braintree 1903; died Saffron Walden, Essex 1989) who taught at the Royal College of Art from 1933 and Richard Guyatt (born La Coruña, Spain, 1914; died Ham, Wiltshire, 2007) who was Professor of Graphic Arts at the same college. The design shows a perspective view of the Oxford Street frontage of Selfridges department store with proposed decorations for the doorway and windows to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

This drawing is one of three for the Coronation decoration of Selfridges' exterior by these artists in the collection of the V&A. Ephemeral in nature, the drawing shows the way in which the Coronation celebrations engaged participants from a range of British design practice linking them to the commercial enterprise of Oxford Street.
Collection
Accession number
E.440-2010

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Record createdApril 19, 2010
Record URL
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