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The painting is after Robert Howlett’s iconic photograph of the engineer standing in front of the chains of the 'Great Eastern' at the ship’s launch ramps on the Isle of Dogs. Brunel collapsed and died soon after the photograph was taken. The Bryan Organ painting is larger than life and was commissioned by Sir Peter Parker, last Chairman of British Railways. The artist has replaced the chains with the portal of the railway tunnel at Box, and the picture originally hung in the Brunel Room at the Great Western Royal Hotel, Paddington. No longer manacled, the engineer stands at a doorway through which the sun shines on his birthday, if the stories are true. The Victorians' favourite word for machines was ‘promethean’. The engineer is a romantic figure, like the Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.
The Brunel Museum
London
Title
I. K. Brunel
Date
1978
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Measurements
H 242.6 x W 119.4 cm
Accession number
LDBRU:2010.1
Acquisition method
gift from the British Rail Residuary Body, 2010
Work type
Painting
The Brunel Museum
Railway Avenue, London, Greater London SE16 4LF England
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Daimler and Gallery Attendant Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust -
Gerald Bernbaum (b.1936), Former Vice-Chancellor of South Bank University London South Bank University -
Sir David E. N. Davies (b.1935), Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University (1988–1993) Loughborough University -
Lord Dahrendorf (1929–2009) St Antony's College, University of Oxford -
Tippett at De Montfort Hall County Hall, Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection -
I. K. Brunel The Brunel Museum -
Number 3 Composition County Hall, Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection - 47 more