Combined statuary of Kenwood and Sunny Heights, captured together at Tittenhurst in the summer of 1977; the lions last seen on the back terrace round Ringo's gaff, and the figure famous from the Sgt Pepper sleeve, if not the front door at Kenwood:
Of course, it's no surprise that John's Kenwood statues were there; in 1969, they were sitting behind the main house, outside the Assembly Hall:
By 1977, Ringo had moved them round the front:
All, familiar from St George's Hill, present and correct:
The whos, whats, whys and (these days) wheres of John's "busts" remain unclear. Where did he get them? Where are they now? What am I talking about? Who are they? The impressively tached-up one may be Lord Kitchener. Phillip Norman's recent biography of John pontificates thusly: "In the book lined front hall (at Kenwood) hung a Great War recruiting poster, with Lord Kitchener pointing a stern forefinger above the famous slogan "Your Country Needs You". John positioned it so that anyone approaching the front door was greeted by Kitchener's baleful, mustachioed stare through an adjacent window."
Baleful, mustachioed stares to one side, it may be that, in fact, it was this statue that spent a period inside Kenwood, looking out the window by the front door. Or not.
In any case, that most certainly is a baleful, mustachioed stare, if ever I've seen one:
Thanks again to Thomas Rhyner for generously sharing his pics.
I am beginning to wonder if the statues may even be American in origin. They are not as formal as one might expect, and they have a certain 'jaunty' humour about them. (Could actually be describing the Fabs there...)
ReplyDeleteYou might also expect Lord Kitchener to be represented in military garb, so I'm not sure that it can be him.
Either way, fantastic work from Mr Rhyner. Thank you.
True - it might not be Kitchener. Whatever, that may be the biggest tache I have ever seen, which is the main thing.
ReplyDeleteAny idea of when the statues first appeared at Kenwood, however approximate?
ReplyDeleteNot really. The earliest sighting (so far) of any of them is "Kitchener", which can be seen behind Lizzie Bravo in her photo dated March 25, 1967 (click on Lizzie Bravo in Labels). I'd guess the statues come under the heading of "Victoriana", which became fashionable circa summer 1966; so they were possibly acquired around then. But that's yet more aimless speculation on my part.
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know who are the 2 busts on the cover of the "hey jude"?
ReplyDelete