George Kenner

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For the British organic chemist, see George Wallace Kenner.

George Kenner
POW artist George Kenner at Frith Hill tent camp in 1915.
Born
Georg Kennerknecht

(1888-11-01)1 November 1888
Schwabsoien, Weilheim-Schongau, Bavaria, Germany
Died10 July 1971(1971-07-10) (aged 82)
Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
, United States
Known forpainting, drawing
SpouseMargarete Bohne Kenner (1921–1963; her death)

George Kenner (1 November 1888 – 10 July 1971) was a German artist. He made 110 paintings and drawings during the

internee in Great Britain and the Isle of Man.[1][2]

Birth and background

Kenner was born Georg Kennerknecht on November 1, 1888, in the small town of

Lambeth School of Art to study airbrush techniques. He was registered as an "alien enemy" on August 23, 1914, then abruptly interned five days after the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915.[3][4]

Being a trained

commercial artist by profession, and wanting to stay in practice with his work, he negotiated with the PoW camp authorities to be allowed to create what became the most extensive collection of World War I internment scenes known.[1]

History of internment

P.O.W. Camp, A Sunday Morning. Frith Hill POW tent camp, near Frimley, in Surrey, England, July 1915.
Knockaloe internment camp near Peel on the Isle of Man
, May 1918.

Kenner was held at three camps, and recorded scenes from each in his artwork: On May 12, 1915, he was first sent to a temporary tent camp built on Frith Hill, on an area which is now part of the Pine Ridge Golf Centre,

Armistice.[3][4]

Family and later history

Kenner married artist Margarete Bohne in

commercial artist. Kenner and his family were naturalized as American citizens in 1934. A fourth child, Christa Kenner Bedford, was born in 1937. Kenner died of natural causes at his home on July 10, 1971, at age 82.[1][4]

Disposition of artwork

Many of his drawings, hand-written journal, business card,

Lambeth School of Art tuition slips, immigration and "alien enemy" registration documents were accepted into the Imperial War Museum in London, in October 2005.[6]

Three other British museums acquired the art that Kenner produced in their particular areas during the war: the

Bruce Castle Museum in London.[7]

Several of Kenner's paintings from his Frith Hill PoW camp period were used in the book Reflections – A Heatherside Miscellany by Nick McCormick, published in June 2006.[8]

Several other paintings from Kenner's Alexandra Palace PoW period were used in the book Ally Pally Prison Camp by Maggie Butt, published in June 2011.[9]

Gallery

  • George Kenner painting British POW camp commander's wife and daughter at Frith Hill POW tent camp near Frimley, in Surrey, England, 1915.
    George Kenner painting British POW camp commander's wife and daughter at Frith Hill POW tent camp near Frimley, in Surrey, England, 1915.
  • Alexandra Sports Palace, London, Converted into Winter Internment Camp, November 1915.
    Alexandra Sports Palace, London, Converted into Winter Internment Camp, November 1915.
  • Wired-off Terrace for Exercise in Bad Weather for Civilian Pows at Alexandra Palace, February 1916.
    Wired-off Terrace for Exercise in Bad Weather for Civilian Pows at Alexandra Palace, February 1916.
  • Overnight Snowfall Melting into Slush at the Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man, April 1917.
    Overnight Snowfall Melting into Slush at the
    Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man
    , April 1917.
  • George Kenner (2nd from right) with his younger brother Benno (far right) and fellow interns at the Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man, February 1918.
    George Kenner (2nd from right) with his younger brother Benno (far right) and fellow interns at the Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man, February 1918.
  • Storm and Rainbow, Symbol for Near End of War, Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man, August 1918.
    Storm and Rainbow, Symbol for Near End of War,
    Knockaloe internment camp on the Isle of Man
    , August 1918.
  • George Kenner, former World War I POW, with his violin on his 81st birthday at his residence in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1969.
    George Kenner, former World War I POW, with his violin on his 81st birthday at his residence in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1969.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Through Art, German Expressed Experience of Internment Camp". philly.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  2. ^ "Veteran Artist Reemerges With Color". philly.com. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "George Kenner Internment Journal". Retrieved April 19, 2014.George Kenner hand-written journal now at the Imperial War Museum, London.
  4. ^ a b c "My Father – George Kenner – Memories by Christa Kenner Bedford". Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  5. ^ Reflections – A Heatherside Miscellany. McCormick, Nick.
  6. ^ "Prison-camp life produces artwork of dichotomies". philly.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  7. ^ "More albums added (May 20, '07) for George Kenner Art". Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  8. ^ Reflections – A Heatherside Miscellany. ASIN 0952669056.
  9. ^ "Ally Pally Prison Camp". www.overstepsbooks.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011.

External links

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