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Dartford Grammar School

This beautifully executed edition of Dartford Grammar School was a commission from the school to artist James Taylor.

The School was founded in 1576 and has resided in the current buildings on the West Hill site since 1866. Of course, over time there have been several extensions and new buildings added to accommodate the growing population and the popularity of the School even outside of its immediate catchment area.

The most iconic of the views of the School is without a doubt the original building frontage taken from the perspective of West Hill. On visiting the school James spent time absorbing the features of the architecture and fittings, and captured some of the internal and external textures for inspiration, for instance transposing the parquet flooring pattern onto the roof tiling in the print to make for a more visually engaging piece.

The colours used reflect those of the School’s uniform, and the print captures both the School’s angel logo, and the motto ‘Ora et Labora’.

The foreground of the edition has a paint wave like texture to remind the viewer of the proximity to the Thames, and the trees at the top left and right frame the piece, thereby drawing the viewer ever closer. The rustic brick work popular across structures in Kent has been replaced with a metallic copper feel to suggest something quite special about the building.

The original concept for the print was based on an aerial view of the school with Spitfires flying overhead, an idea founded in discussions about the tunnels which were excavated in the School grounds to give shelter during World War II air raids. This edition was however destroyed as it focused too heavily on the aircraft but the final work does still bear testimony to the experiences of war-time. More of these memories are available on the School website in the meticulously kept diaries of Roy Mack.

THE PRINT

This signed print is one of a limited edition. It’s recorded on Hahnemühle stock via a large format mimeograph and generally referred to as Giclée prints of premium quality. The paper is white 100% a-cellulose with a distinct textured surface and the premium matt inkjet coating more than meets the highest industry standards vis-à-vis density, colour gamut, colour graduation and image sharpness, while preserving the extraordinary touch and feel of genuine art paper. The editions depicted on Iconic Reserve are not representative of scale and solely for the purpose of suggestive display.

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Signed limited edition
1 of 100, 420mm x 597mm
Recorded on Hahnemühle
Dartford collection

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