Leonard Rosoman O.B.E., R.A., (British, 1913-2012)

Portrait of Amanda and Christopher Guest

Portrait of Amanda and Christopher Guest
signed and dated 'Leonard Rosoman 1990' (lower right)
acrylic on canvas
101.5 x 139.5cm (39 15/16 x 54 15/16in).

Provenance
Commissioned by the family of the present owner, 1990, and thence by descent
Private Collection, U.K.

Literature
T. Harrod, Leonard Rosoman, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2017, pp. 198-201, illustrated on p. 203 (related drawing)

Having struck a friendship in 1979 with Leonard Rosoman, during his time at the Hamptons, Myrna and John Guest commissioned the present work in 1989. Following a number of preliminary drawings, including a full-scale drawing of the present work, Rosoman completed and presented the painting to Myrna and John in 1990, depicting their two children Amanda and Christopher. Tanya Harrod describes how Rosoman 'empathised with both young people, and arranged his painting almost as an Annunciation. Amanda, standing by a wall of her and Christopher's paintings, appears to beckon her brother towards a life in art' (T. Harrod, ibid., p. 199). The setting of the painting is a house in Chelsea, which John Guest (an architect) had designed; the spiral staircase in the centre of the work was a signature feature of many of his designs.