Frederick Halford Coventry b. 1905 Cheltenham, New Zealand

Also known as F.H. Coventry
  • Artist (Carver) , (Glass & metal Artist / Designer) , (Industrial / Product Designer) , (Cartoonist / Illustrator) , (Draughtsman) , (Printmaker) , (Painter)
A painter, muralist, stained glass artist, glass painter & etcher, printmaker, poster-designer, art teacher, book-illustrator and designer, Frederick Halford Coventry's art practice encompassed both the fine art and commercial art sectors.
Talk | Version history | Updated Oct. 19, 2011 | Created Oct. 10, 2008
Name
Frederick Halford Coventry
Also known as F.H. Coventry
Birth date
19 January 1905
Birth place
Cheltenham, New Zealand
Death date
10 February 1997
Death place
London
Gender
Male
Roles
  • Artist (Carver)
  • Artist (Glass & metal Artist / Designer)
  • Artist (Industrial / Product Designer)
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
  • Artist (Draughtsman)
  • Artist (Printmaker)
  • Artist (Painter)
Residence
  • 1933- 1997 London, UK
  • 1932 Cairo, Egypt
  • 1926- 1929 Sydney, NSW
  • 1922- 1925 Wellington, New Zealand
  • 1922 Auckland, New Zealand
  • 1906- 1921 Tokomaru Bay
  • 1929- 1932 London, UK
  • 1905 Cheltenham, New Zealand
  • Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, London
Other Occupation
  • Art teacher
Arrival
  • 1927
Active Period
  • 1925- 1986
Languages
  • English
Training
  • 1929 Grosvenor School of Modern Art, London
  • 1926- 1928 Julian Ashton Sydney Art School, Sydney, NSW
  • 1922- 1925 Wellington Technical College, New Zealand
  • 1922 Elam School of Art, Auckland, New Zealand
Is Indigenous
No

The career of Frederick Halford Coventry (1905-1997) epitomises the concept of art in industry, and industry in art. A muralist, painter, printmaker, glass artist, poster designer and book-illustrator, he attracted recognition in the fine and commercial art sectors for the decorative linearity of his work. Born in Cheltenham, New Zealand, in 1905, Coventry grew up in Tokomaru Bay. After enrolling for a brief time at Elam School of Art in Auckland in 1922, he studied under Harry Linley Richardson at Wellington Technical College from 1922 until 1926. The impact Richardson had on Coventry was immense, leading to his life-long commitment to viewing art as an integral part of everyday life. Much of Coventry’s study was done at night-school while supporting himself by working as a draughtsman by day.

The emergence of Coventry’s highly individual style was encouraged by Julian Ashton at the Sydney School of Art where Coventry enrolled in 1926. The work which first brought Coventry to public attention was his Self-Portrait, pencil drawing (1927). Notable for its cinematic modernity and meticulous attention to detail, the drawing featured in the Society of Artists’ “Special Exhibition” at the David Jones Art Gallery in Sydney in May of 1929.

In 1929, Coventry relocated to London to study engraving under Iain Macnab, developing a far from traditional approach to the medium. Impressed by his work, Malcolm Salaman published Coventry’s engraving Apples & Birds of Paradise in The Studio. Several of his engravings also featured in the “Exhibition of Modern Prints” at the Twenty One Gallery, London, in December 1929. Praise from the art critic for The Times led to Coventry holding a solo exhibition of his drawings and engravings at the Twenty One Gallery in February, 1930. The Contemporary Arts Society purchased Temporary Staircase, an engraving of scaffolding at a building site, for the British Museum Print Room.

Assigning as much energy to his commercial art as his fine art, Coventry had a client list resembling a trade directory. His clients included: the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Australian National Travel Association, British Petroleum Ltd, British Home Office, British Imperial Airways, British Post Office, The Daily Telegraph, Egyptian State Railways, London Transport, New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd, Shell Mex, Southern Railways, Union Steam Ship Co of New Zealand and the Wellington Wool Manufacturing Co Ltd. Examples of his advertising art appeared in The Studio, Commercial Art, Modern Publicity and Advertising Word. His poster for Southern Railways, Winter Sunshine Holidays In Southern England, featured in the “British Art in Industry Exhibition”, London (1935).

Coventry was also invited to travel to Egypt to design posters for the Egyptian Government’s Railways and Tourist Departments and the Orient Line. James Gleeson noted that William Dobell occupied Coventry’s Bayswater studio-flat while he was in Egypt, and on his return they shared it for a time, making sketches of London street scenes from the windows. (Dobell’s portrait of Coventry is now in the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection). The rapidly expanding travel market also provided Coventry with interior design commissions. He was among leading artists selected by Edward Brian O’Rorke to work on the interior of RMS Orcades I, a luxury steamship launched in 1937. Coventry designed an etched glass scheme for the 1st class café.

In 1939, the New Zealand government commissioned Coventry to paint four murals for the “Centennial Exhibition”. These were the antithesis of Coventry’s usually innovative graphic style, suggesting he felt constrained by the terms of the commission. Returning to London, he became a camouflage officer for the British Air Ministry during World War II, responsible for designing camouflage schemes for military installations. He also managed to maintain his artistic career despite difficulties such as having his engraving plates destroyed during the blitz in 1940. He exhibited paintings and drawings at the Royal Academy, and the War Artists Advisory Committee purchased his oil painting, Dummy Figures used in Training (1942), for the Imperial War Museum.

A member of the Society of Industrial Designers, Coventry’s commitment to art and industry led to him joining the Art Workers Guild in 1945, the Society of Industrial Artists in 1946, and being elected a member of the Society of Mural Painters in 1947. A year later he received one of his most important liner commissions, the creation of murals for the Cunard’s luxury liner RMS Caronia II. The Art Deco simplicity of these murals was evident in Horses Released from Work (1948). Consisting of twelve carved and gilded gesso panels on polished veneer, it was installed above the entrance to the 1st class lounge.

Other liners for which he created painted murals and etched glass designs include the New Zealand Shipping Company’s M.V Rangitiki (1947), M.V. Rangitoto (1949) and Ruahine (1951) and for the P&O line, the Himalaya (1949). The staging of an exhibition of Coventry’s mural decorations, paintings and engravings at New Zealand House, London, in May 1950, provided an ideal opportunity to showcase many of these works.

In 1951, Coventry began teaching perspective and life drawing at the Chelsea School of Art. Never content to confine himself to just one artform, he was by now experimenting with techniques for ornamenting large sheets of architectural glass. He registered a patent for sand-blasting, engraving, etching, colouring and moulding glass in 1955 (GB787758). Demand for his services as a glass designer grew to such an extent that he resigned from Chelsea School of Art in 1958 to concentrate on this aspect of his art. The most significant of his glass commissions was the design of fourteen windows for the Plymouth Guildhall to replace those destroyed during a German bombing raid. Depicting scenes from the history of the Plymouth, this commission began in 1958 and took 25 years to complete.

Coventry also undertook several commissions in London during this period, including a mural for Queensland House; a large tile mosaic entitled The Labours of Hercules for the exterior wall of the Central Office of Information; stained glass windows for St Alphage House and the Masonic Lodge in Hendon; an etched and engraved armorial plaque for a city guild; and murals for the Scarsdale Arms Public House, Kensington. This represents only a sample of his commercial undertakings, many of which are still to be fully documented.

Examples of his murals and etched glass designs featured in the “Art on the Liners” exhibition at Southampton Art Gallery in 1986. Coventry died in London in 1997.

Works by Adelaide-born painter Fred Coventry (1913-1995), are sometimes misattributed to Frederick Halford Coventry.

Writers:
Dr Gail Ross Note:
Date written:
2008
Last updated:
2011
Status:
peer-reviewed
associate of
William Dobell
1899
Artist (Painter), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Julian Ashton
Artist
associate of
Iain Macnab
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Edward Brian O'Rorke
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
nee Carter Muriel Bernice McIntosh
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Nelson Isaac
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Harry Linley Richardson
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
child of
Harry Coventry
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
child of
Evangeline Rockel
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
spouse of
Dolores Ashton
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
parent of
Edward Coventry
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
parent of
Elizabeth Coventry
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
parent of
Stella Ashton
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Terence John Santry
1910
Artist (Industrial / Product Designer), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Chelsea School of Art
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Society of Mural Painters, UK
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Art Workers Guild, UK
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Society of Industrials Artists, UK
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
Scrambling Man
Copper engraving, edition of 35. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 22); NZ Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition 1937 (cat.146); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No.L4); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (181). Reproduced in Art In New Zealand, December 1930, p. 102 & The Studio, June 1931, p. 75. Entered in Prix de Rome competition 1930. In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
The Labours of Hercules, ceramic tile mosaic.
Date
1960-1969
For exterior wall of The Central Office of Information, Hercules Road, London.
14 Stained Glass Windows, Plymouth Guildhall, Devon, England.
Date
1958- 1983
Commissioned to replace windows damaged by German bombing during World War II.
The Coronation, illustrations
Date
1953
F. & J Wood, The Coronation, designed and illustrated by F.H. Coventry, Wellington: N.Z. Department of Education, 1953. Collection National Library of New Zealand.
Exmouth, colour lithograph, poster
Date
1951
Client British Rail (Southern Region).
Festival of Britain, colour lithograph, poster
Date
1951
Client British Rail (Southern Region)
Royal Tunbridge Wells, colour lithograph, poster
Date
1951
British Rail (Southern Region)
Girls and Boys Come Out to Play, Children's Dining Room, Ruahine, painted mural.
Date
1951
Client New Zealand Shipping Company.
History of Kensington, painted mural for the Scarsdale Arms Public House, London.
Date
1950
One of a series of paintings illustrating the history of Kensington commissioned to decorate the Scarsdale Arms Public House, Edwardes Square, London, W. 8. Exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. N.)
Oak Tree, painted panel for Verandah Café, M.V. Rangitoto
Date
1949
Client New Zealand Shipping Company. Reproduction exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. C3.)
Kauri, painted panel for Verandah Café, M.V. Rangitoto
Date
1949
Client New Zealand Shipping Company. Reproduction exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. C2.) Photograph exhibited in Art On The Liners Exhibition, Southampton City Art Gallery, 1986.
Horses Released from Work, 12 carved and gilded gesso panels on lacquered veneer, for entrance above main lounge, RMS Caronia II
Date
1948
Client Cunard. Reproduced in "A Study of Design Aboard the RMS Caronia", Art and Industry, Vol 47, No 278, August 1949, pp. 62-63; Gail Ross, Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry, Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p 62. Working images exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat Nos. G 1-3).Photograph of panels exhibited in Art On The Liners Exhibition, Southampton City Art Gallery, 1986.
From London to the Countryside, colour lithograph, poster
Date
1948
Double graphic poster, London street scene by Coventry, countryside by K. Hauff. Client British Rail (Southern Region).
Canterbury Cathedral - The Nave Looking East, colour lithograph, poster
Date
1948
Client British Rail (Southern Region).
Westminster, painting for 1st class dining saloon, M.V. Rangitiki
Date
1947
Client New Zealand Shipping Company. Exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. D1.) Photograph of painting exhibited in Art On The Liners Exhibition, Southampton City Art Gallery, 1986.
Portrait of My Father, pencil drawing
Date
1946
Exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1946, (cat. 1004); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. J1).
Night Life, painting
Date
1945
Exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1945, (cat. 948).
Fairy Kindheart, frontispiece & illustrations
Date
1945
Grace Ashton, Fairy Kindheart, London: Sands, 1945.
Dummy Figures used in Training, oil painting
Date
1942
Purchased by the War Artists Advisory Committee for the Imperial War Museum Collection, London.
Pimlico Houses, painting
Date
1941
Exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1941, (cat. 596).
Poplar Trees, pencil drawing
Date
1940
Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. J3).
Girls Playing in Street, pencil drawing
Date
1940-1949
Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. J2).
Ken Wood
Date
1940-1949
Drawing. Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. K4).
Kauri Tree
Date
1940-1949
Drawing. Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. K3).
Zeebrugge
Date
1940-1949
Drawing. Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. K2).
The European in New Zealand before 1840; The Land Is Cleared and Cultivated; The Beginning of Organised Settlement; The Close of New Zealand's First Century, mural paintings
Date
1939
Oil & gold leaf. For Government Court at the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Wellington. Not extant, see Art In New Zealand, Vol XII, No 1, September 1932, pp. 29-30. Exhibited at An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat Nos. A, B, 1-8).
Make the Most of Autumn Days
Date
1939
Colour lithograph poster Client Southern Railways.
Date
1938
New Zealand Shipping Company Almanac, illustrations
Hauhau Ritual Dance
Date
1937
Pen & ink frontispiece H. J. Harrop, England and the Maori Wars, London: New Zealand News, 1937.
Date
1937
Etched Glass Decorative Scheme for 1st class verandah Café, RMS Orcades I, screen in heat moulded glass. Client Orient Steam Navigation Company. Painting of the work in the artist's home, with working drawing exhibited in An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat Nos. I 1-2).Photograph of glass screen in situ exhibited in Art On The Liners Exhibition, Southampton City Art Gallery, 1986.
Portrait of Stella
Date
1936
Pencil drawing. Exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1936, (cat. 1166); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. K1). Model was Coventry's step-daughter.
Orient Line Tours in Egypt
Date
1935
Colour lithograph poster. Client Orient Line. Reproduced in Tom Purvis, Poster Progress, London: The Studio Publications Ltd, 1939, p. 121.
Le Caire, Chemins De Fer De L'État Égyptian
Date
1935
Colour lithograph poster Client Egyptian State Railways, Cairo. Reproduced in Tom Purvis, Poster Progress, London: The Studio Publications Ltd, 1939, p. 121; Abderrahman Slaoui, The Orientalist Poster, Casablanca: Malika Editions, 1997, p. 47; Gail Ross, Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry, Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p. 63.
It's Summer Time in Australia
Date
1935
Colour lithograph poster. Client Orient Line. Reproduced in Tom Purvis, Poster Progress, London: The Studio Publications Ltd, 1939, p. 64
Man in Armchair
Date
1933
Pencil drawing Reproduced in F.H. Coventry's Drawings, Art In Australia, No 55, 1934, p. 17.
A Baby
Date
1933
Pencil drawing. Reproduced in F.H. Coventry's Drawings, Art In Australia, No 55, 1934, p. 18.
Study of a Beech Tree in Winter,
Date
1933
Pencil drawing. Reproduced in F. Coventry, "Poster Designing", Art In New Zealand, Vol VI, No 3, March 1934, p. 135.
Rugby by Howard Marshall
Date
1933
Lithograph poster Client Daily Telegraph, London. Reproduced in F. Coventry, "Poster Designing", Art In New Zealand, Vol VI, No 3, March 1934, p. 135.
Sailor, Orient Line Cruises
Date
1933
Colour lithograph poster. Client Orient Line, London. Reproduced in F. Coventry, "Poster Designing", Art In New Zealand, Vol VI, No 3, March 1934, p. 134.
Winter Sunshine
Date
1933
Colour lithograph poster. Client Southern Railways. Exhibited at the British Art In Industry Exhibition 1935, Royal Academy. Reproduced in F. Coventry, "Poster Designing", Art In New Zealand, Vol VI, No 3, March 1934, p. 133; Gail Ross, Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry, Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p. 61.
Mrs Waley
Date
1932
Pencil drawing
The Last Day, Epsom
Date
1932
Exhibited at Centennial Exhibition of International and New Zealand Art, Wellington, 1939 (cat. 354).
Rt .Hon. J.W. Hills
Date
1932
Pencil drawing. Exhibited at Centennial Exhibition of International and New Zealand Art, Wellington, 1939 (cat. 355).
The Rev. C.C. Martindale
Date
1932
Pencil drawing. Commissioned for Campion Hall, Oxford.
Dr Baillie, The Very Rev. The Dean of Windsor
Date
1932
Pencil drawing. Exhibited at Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1932, (cat. 1036).
Bad Smell
Date
1930
Pencil drawing. A self-portrait entered in the Prix-de-Rome. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 33).
Portrait of Gwen (Miss Gwen Ridley)
Date
1930
Pencil drawing Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 32); and Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1932, (cat. 1043).
The Coronation in a Poor Street
Date
1930-1939
Drawing. Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M6.)
Portrait of Alan Marshall
Date
1930-1939
Drawing Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M5.)
Paper-bark Tree
Date
1930-1939
Drawing Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M4.)
Portrait of William Dobell
Date
1930-1939
Drawing. Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M3.)
Bread-fruit Trees
Date
1930-1939
Drawing. Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M2.)
Death mask of J.W. Hills, P.C., M.P.
Date
1930-1939
Drawing. Exhibited at Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No. M1.)
The Cemetery
Date
1930
Pen & ink drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 35).
Portrait of Arthur Hirst, Esq
Date
1930
Pen & ink drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 31).
The Model
Date
1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 15).
Studies for "Flight"
Date
1930
Chalk drawings. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 5 & 14).
Flight
Date
1930
Pen & ink drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 29). Reproduced in Frederick Coventry, "Getting Work in London", The Art Student, Magazine of the Sydney Art School, Vol 1, No 5, 1934.
The Showman
Date
1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 13).
Date
1930
Study for an Illustration, chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 11).
Date
1930
Illustrations for the Autobiography of Liam O'Flaherty, chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 12 & 36).
Liam O'Flaherty
Date
1930
Copper engraving. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 18).
The Dance (Mad Dance)
Date
1930
Copper engraving, edition of 35. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 20); Josef Lebovic Gallery 2004.
And Israel saw the Egyptians Dead Upon the Sea Shore
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50 Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 25); NZ Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition 1937 (cat.147); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No.L6); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (22). Entered in the Prix de Rome competition 1930. In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
The Greaser
Date
1929- 1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 3).
Portrait of Richard Smart
Date
1929- 1930
Pencil drawing Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 4).
Recumbent Woman
Date
1929- 1930
Pencil drawing Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 8).
Portrait of Megan
Date
1929- 1930
Pencil drawing Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 2).
Crouching Man
Date
1929- 1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 10).
Street Accident
Date
1929- 1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 9).
Studies for "The Stoning"
Date
1929- 1930
Chalk drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 1 & 6).
Book Plate Designs
Date
1929- 1930
Pen & ink. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 7).
The Stoning, pen & ink drawing
Date
1929- 1930
Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 28).
Charlemagne II
Date
1929- 1930
Pen & ink drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 27).
Charlemagne
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 35. Exhibited Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (cat. 20) & 2008 (cat. 29). In collection of National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
The Temporary Stairway (Temporary Staircase)
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 21); NZ Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition 1937 (cat.148); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No.L1); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (21). In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT; British Museum, London.
The Local Tropics
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 23); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No.L3). In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
The Barbaric Property Wall
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50 Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat.19); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (cat 16). In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Carinthia
Date
1929- 1930
Drawing for engraving Exhibited in "Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry" Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 30).
Carinthia
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat.26); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (19). Reproduced in Art In Australia, No 31, March 1930, Plate 39. Collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Apples & Birds of Paradise
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat.17); NZ Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition 1937 (cat.145); An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry, New Zealand House, London, 1950 (Cat No.L5). Reproduced in The Studio, Vol 100, 1930, p. 301; Art In Australia, No 31, March 1930, plate 40; Gail Ross, Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry, Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p. 61. In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT; Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle, NSW.
The Invalid
Date
1929- 1930
Copper engraving, edition of 50 Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 24); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (cat. 17) & 2008 (cat. 30). In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Veda, pencil drawing
Date
1929- 1930
Pencil drawing. Exhibited in Drawings & Engravings by F.H. Coventry Exhibition, Twenty-One Gallery, London, 1930 (cat. 24); Josef Lebovic Gallery 1997 (cat. 17) & 2008 (cat. 30). In collections of Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Horizontal Portrait
Date
1927
Exhibited in Special Exhibition by the Society of Artists, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, May 1929 (cat no 163). Reproduced in "The Contemporary Group of Australian Artists", Pencil drawing Art In Australia, No 29, September 1929, Plate 18; Hendrik Kolenberg, Australian Drawings, Sydney: Art Gallery New South Wales, 1997, p. 52; Gail Ross, Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry, Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p. 60. Collection Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Portrait of Elsdon Best
Date
1925
Pencil drawing. Collection Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, N.Z.
Collections
Australian Art
2008
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Fine Prints, Josef Lebovic Gallery
1997
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Sydney, NSW
Art On The Liners Exhibition
1986
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Southampton City Art Gallery, England
An Exhibition of Mural Decorations, Paintings, Engravings and Drawings by F.H. Coventry
22 April 1950- 16 June 1950
Exhibition (exhibited at)
New Zealand House, London, UK
Summer Exhibitions
1932
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Royal Academy, London, UK
War Artists
1943
Exhibition (exhibited at)
National Gallery, London, UK
National Centennial Exhibition of New Zealand Art
1940
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Wellington, New Zealand
Centennial Exhibition of International and New Zealand Art
1939
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand Society of Artists Exhibition
1939
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Wellington, New Zealand
Loan Collection of Pictures from the National Gallery of New South Wales Exhibition
1937
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Christchurch, New Zealand
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition
1937
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Wellington, New Zealand
British Art in Industry
1935
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Royal Academy, London, UK
Drawings by F.H. Coventry
11 April 1934
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, NSW
Solo exhibition of Engravings & Drawings
1930
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Gallery Twenty-One, London, UK
Special Exhibition by the Society of Artists
May 1929
Exhibition (exhibited at)
David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, (cat no 163).
Contemporary British Art
1929
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Imperial Institute, London, UK
Exhibition of Modern Prints
1929
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Twenty-One Gallery, London, UK
Recognitions
Elected to Society of Mural Painters
1947
Award
Citations:
  • Gail Ross, (2007), Art & Industry Frederick Halford Coventry (1905-1997), (Place: Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, pp. 60-63.)
  • Hendrik Kolenberg, (1997), Australian Drawings, (Place: Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, p. 52.)
  • Abderrahman Slaoui, (1997), The Orientalist Poster, (Place: Casablanca: Malika Editions, 1997, p. 47.)
  • Alastair Forsyth, (1986), Art on the Liners, exhibition catalogue, (Place: Southampton: Southampton City Art Gallery.)
  • James Gleeson, (1981), William Dobell: a biographical and critical study, (Place: Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1981, pp. 38-39.)
  • (1964), Windows for Plymouth, (Place: The Times, 2 March 1964, p. 22.)
  • F.H. Coventry, Improvements Relating to the Decoration of Glass, (Patent applied for 1955, publish Place: London: Patent Office, GB787758)
  • (1949), A Study of Design Aboard the RMS Caronia, (Place: Art and Industry, Vol 47, No 278, August 1949.)
  • Tom Purvis, (1939), Poster Progress, (Place: London: The Studio Publications Ltd, 1939)
  • (1939), Murals For Government Court N.Z. Centennial Exhibition, (Place: Art In New Zealand, Vol XII, No 1, September 1939, pp. 29-35.)
  • (1934), Art Notes: Wellington, (Place: Art In New Zealand, Vol VI, No 3, March 1934, pp. 167-168.)
  • Frederick Coventry, (1930), Letter From London, (Place: Art In New Zealand, Vol III, No 9, September 1930, pp. 57-60.)
  • (1930), Catalogue of Drawings and Engravings by F.H. Coventry, (Place: London: Twenty One Gallery)
  • (1930), Twenty-One Gallery, (Place: London: The Times, 27 February, 1930, p. 12.)
  • Malcolm C. Salaman, (1930), A Chat to the Print Lover, (Place: London: The Studio, Vol 100, 1930, pp. 298- 301.)
  • Thompson, Sydney, (1930), New Zealand Artists Abroad, (Place: Art In New Zealand, Vol III, No 10, December 1930, pp. 93-94.)
  • (1929), Modern Prints, (Place: London: The Times, 13 December 1929, p. 12.)
  • Unknown, (1929), The Contemporary Group of Australian Artists, (Place: Art In Australia, Third Series No 29, September 1929, np.)
  • Artist's File, (Place: E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand)
  • Frederick Halford Coventry, Artist's Papers, National Gallery of Australia Archives, 77/721
  • Author: Blackley, Roger. Renwick, William (ed.), (2004), Centennial Exhibitions of Art, William Renwick (ed.), Creating A National Spirit, Celebrating New Zealand's Centennial., (Place: Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2004, p. 223.)
  • Hillman, Tony & Cole, Beverly, (1999), South For Sunshine, Southern Railway Publicity and Posters, 1923 to 1947
See also:
  • Gail Ross, "Art & Industry: Frederick Halford Coventry", Art New Zealand, No. 125, Summer 2007-2008, p. 60.
  • "The Contemporary Group of Australian Artists", Art In Australia, No 29, September 1929, Plate 18
  • Hendrik Kolenberg, "Australian Drawings", Sydney: Art Gallery New South Wales, 1997, p. 52