The Whitechapel Bell Foundry in East London was the oldest manufacturing business in Great Britain, with nearly 500 years of bell-making. The foundry is world famous for making the Big Ben Bell in the Elizabeth Tower at the House of Parliament and the Liberty Bell, a famous symbol of American independence. Sadly the building was sold in 2017 and the foundry closed its doors with a proposal to turn it into a boutique hotel instead. Since closing, the facade ( painted by @artistianharper) has begun to decay and become vandalised as nothing has been done to look after it due to the hotel development plans being abandoned. @thelondonbellfoundry was set up in 2016 to fight to save the Grade I listed foundry and to become a permanent home for the London Bell Foundry but has since been ignored after an offer was made to acquire it at market value.
I chose to paint the foundry in its former glory to be celebrated and to give hope that it will return. Such a great shame to see an really important historical building get treated that way.
This painting, a testament to the artistry of a bygone era, immortilises the resonance of history in a timeless tableau.