Among these is a maquette of his George Orwell (1903-50) sculpture, which was unveiled in full, larger-than-life size, in front of BBC Broadcasting House earlier this month. The commission caused some controversy – Orwell, a former BBC employee, once dubbed it the corporation “half lunatic asylum, half girls’ school” and reportedly left its employ on bad terms.
“I wanted to express Orwell – with one pugilistic hand on his hip and the other jabbing his cigarette at us – as candid and forthright, a pointed and interrogative figure forcefully enquiring of each of us whether we too will take his stand on behalf of intellectual liberty and truth,” says Jennings.
The show will incorporate smaller versions of his well-known John Betjeman statue (installed in full size at St Pancras Station) and others of Charles Dickens and Philip Larkin.
Also on offer are a number of Nancy Cadogan’s book paintings. A British-American artist, Cadogan produced works in her series of diminutive book paintings for the London Antiquarian Book Fair in 2011. Among her works on offer are images of volumes by the likes of Keats and TS Eliot, resting on chairs, in front of windows and against various dreamlike backgrounds.
