Haywain with Cruise Missiles thumbnail 1
Not on display

Haywain with Cruise Missiles

Photograph
1980 (made)
Artist/Maker
Peter Kennard (maker)
Place of origin
London (made)

In this subversive photomontage, three nuclear warheads are inserted into the idyllic East Anglian countryside depicted in John Constable's famous painting The Hay Wain (1821). The impetus for this work was the proposal to hone US nuclear cruise missiles in rural East Anglia. It was also a response to a Ministry of Defence leaflet that portrayed the missiles in delicate watercolours.

Object details

Categories
Photographs
Collages
War
Object type
Photograph
TitleHaywain with Cruise Missiles (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Photomontage
Printing Ink
Paper
Photography
Collage
Brief description
Photograph by Peter Kennard, 'Haywain with Cruise Missiles', photographic collage, London, 1980
Physical description
A black and white photograph depicting an altered version of Constable's oil painting The Hay Wain. Inside the hay wain there are now three nuclear warheads and a man in military gear holding a grenade in his right hand.
Dimensions
  • Print height: 55.2cm
  • Print width: 81.6cm
  • Frame height: 56.1cm (Note: Measurement of object when framed)
  • Frame width: 81.6cm (Note: Measurement of object when framed - frame does not exceed width of print)
  • Height of grid height: 500cm (Note: Size of grid when all 18 photographs in the series are displayed together)
  • Width of grid width: 784cm (Note: Size of grid when all 18 photographs in the series are displayed together)
Gallery label
(11/08/2011-27/11/2011)
In this subversive photomontage, three nuclear warheads are inserted into the idyllic East Anglian countryside depicted in John Constable's famous painting The Hay Wain (1821). The impetus for this work was the proposal to hone US nuclear cruise missiles in rural East Anglia. It was also a response to a Ministry of Defence leaflet that portrayed the missiles in delicate watercolours.
Subjects depicted
Soldier
Dog
Horses
Cottage
Trees
River
Cart
Nuclear Bombs
Association
Constable
Summary
In this subversive photomontage, three nuclear warheads are inserted into the idyllic East Anglian countryside depicted in John Constable's famous painting The Hay Wain (1821). The impetus for this work was the proposal to hone US nuclear cruise missiles in rural East Anglia. It was also a response to a Ministry of Defence leaflet that portrayed the missiles in delicate watercolours.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1994
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.859-1994

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Record createdApril 3, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O220382/haywain-with-cruise-missiles-photograph-peter-kennard/
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