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Lithograph a storytelling treat from a master

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Since 1890, Labour Day has commemorated the eight-hour day. It was a spectacle, with parades in city centers up and down the country right up until the 1920s. Back then, the parades had a political purpose; although workers in some industries had long enjoyed it, the eight-hour day was not yet a legal entitlement.

The eight-hour workday came about through a long struggle by workers’ unions in the 19th century. With industrialization came gruelling hours of up to twelve or sixteen hours a day under often harsh conditions. As labour unions formed, they fought for workers’ rights, including better hours.

In looking for a work that acknowledged the workday and the fight that our predecessors undertook to regulate conditions, I found this lovely lithograph titled Clerks & Ponies by Charles Keeping (1924–1988). Keeping was an English illustrator and children’s book author, renowned for his evocative illustrations and storytelling. This image tells a lovely story of young clerks relaxing, perhaps at lunchtime.

His daughter recalls, “[Keeping’s] grandfather was very important because he was a great storyteller and would tell stories from his voyages about the different people he met. Dad loved hearing his stories, so that is where he learned that storytelling was important.”

Keeping’s work is a masterful blend of technical skill and emotional depth, capturing the vibrancy of life while inviting viewers to engage with the stories he tells through his art. Living with his family in a small terraced house right alongside the market, Keeping’s early influences were not just his family but also the characters in Vauxhall Market, which often crop up in his books. He was also near the market, as his daughter explains:

“One of the things that Dad loved to do in the garden was to look through a little knothole to see the Schweppes bottling plant and the workhorses. That memory of horses never left him.”

Despite facing challenges, including a stint in the Royal Navy during World War II and subsequent mental health struggles, he persevered with his art-making. His education at the Regent Street Polytechnic, where he specialized in illustration and lithography, laid the foundation for a very successful career.

Beyond his illustrations, Keeping’s lithographs were exhibited internationally, and his works are part of significant collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum. His ability to infuse personality into his figures is one of his hallmarks. In Clerks and Ponies, the clerks are depicted with distinct expressions and postures. The ponies are portrayed with an eye for anatomy and movement; it is his attention to this detail that adds a layer of authenticity to his work.

The settings in his lithographs often serve as characters themselves. Incorporating elements of the park’s architecture and placing his subjects in a specific cultural context enriches the stories in his prints and illustrations.

Keeping also knows how to direct the viewer’s focus. By using contrasting light and dark areas to create movement, he guides our eyes to follow his figures as they ‘tumble down’ the composition, enhancing the narrative in the work.

Conveying a sense of nostalgia and warmth, his work often includes themes of community and everyday life. In this work, the clerks and ponies evoke a sense of shared experience, highlighting the interconnectedness of people and their environment.

This is one of many wonderful works on paper in the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection that is available to view online.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 26 October 2024 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Art Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Image: Clerks and Ponies, 1955 by Charles Keeping. Collection of Hawke's Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi 7093.

30 October 2024

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