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England's Rose
Artwork Viewer
Not on view
Ronald Lockett was raised by his great-grandmother, the quilter Sarah Dial Lockett. His cousin, the artist Thornton Dial, encouraged him to make art, and the younger artist worked in Dial’s studio, similarly experimenting with found and repurposed materials in the tradition of African American quilt making. Lockett developed a highly personal approach to the themes of birth and death, ecological trauma, and shared cultural memory. He died after a personal battle with HIV/AIDS, leaving behind more than four hundred works documenting the evolution of his incisive artistic perspective.
"England’s Rose" is a tribute to Princess Diana, who died in 1997. Diana was one of the first prominent public figures to physically touch and advocate for patients living with HIV/AIDS, and her gestures were especially meaningful to the artist, who was inspired to make a series of memorial works in her honor. The vertical bars recall the fence of Kensington Palace, which mourners covered with flowers upon Diana’s death, while the quilt-like effects of the composition suggest Lockett’s greatgrandmother’s influence.
- Artist
- Ronald Lockett
- Title
- England's Rose
- Date
- 1997
- Object Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Tin, paper, paint, and nails on plywood
- Dimensions
- Object: 48 1/4 x 48 1/4 in. (122.6 x 122.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, American Art Trust Fund, and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection
- Accession Number
- 2017.1.39