Charles Ernest Cundall was born at Stretford, Lancashire on 6 September 1890. He spent much of his early childhood at Manila in the Philippines and in Australia. Returning to England, he was educated at Ackworth Quaker School,Yorkshire and Sale Grammar School, Lancashire. He entered the world of work as an apprentice designer for Pilkington’s Pottery Company under Gordon Forsyth. At the age of 17, he worked on the design of the lustreware enamel dish England’s Emblem Charger with the noted illustrator Walter Crane. Cundall went on to study at the Manchester School of Art and obtained a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1912. His studies there were interrupted by service with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers during the Great War, after which, he returned to London upon demobilisation in 1918. He first exhibited at the RA in 1918 and would be a prolific exhibitor. In 1918 he rented a Chelsea studio for seven shillings a week (£18 a year). In the period 1919-20 he attended the Slade. In 1920 he went to Paris, renting a studio in Place de la Sorbonne, and painted at Colarossi’s atelier. He visited Italy in 1921 and 1923. Anticoli Corrado, a small village south of Rome had, since the 19th-century, been popular with Italian painters. Following in the footsteps of Colin Gill, the first Rome Scholar, Winifred Knights and Job Nixon spent the summer months of their scholarship in Anticoli. Knights referred to Cundall in a letter written from the village, dated 28 May 1921: ‘Job’s friend (Cundall, 14c Whitehead’s Grove, Chelsea) is arriving here in the middle of June. Job says he would bring out my dresses. . .’ Cundall also journeyed to Sweden, Russia and Spain. In the period 1921-30, he designed posters for Frank Pick, head of marketing for the London Underground. Among his work for that patron may be found fine posters depicting Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. His first one-man exhibition was held at Colnaghi’s in 1927. Cundall was a painter, potter and stained glass artist, but was sepcifically noted for his panoramic pictures, such as Bank Holiday Brighton, (1933; above). His technical ability – especially when working on large panoramic canvases – was remarkable. His pictures are rich with texture, light and movement. He was equally at ease with aerial views, landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes and was a master of crowd scenes, especially those of Test matches at his beloved Kennington Oval.  He also painted portraits in oils and watercolours. Queen Mary (by then the Queen Mother) purchased his Coronation Day, 1937. Other notable works from that period included: FA Cup Final 1936; The Lord Mayor’s Show; The Serpentine Regatta; The Derby; The Test Match at Lord’s, 1938 (owned by the MCC); Henley Regatta; Burnham Regatta; The St Leger and; Durham Miners Gala. During the Second World War, Cundall was commissioned into the Royal Marines and served as official war artist firstly with the Royal Navy and then the Royal Air Force. His painting The Withdrawal from Dunkirk, June 1940 is one of the defining images of British participation in the Second World War and may be found in the collection of the Imperial War Museum in London. In 1944 Captain Cundall was sent to Quebec. Towards the end of the Second World War, the Director of Manchester City Galleries set up an art scheme with local industries. Firms were invited to commission a local artist to record their contribution to the war effort. Cundall painted Metropolitan-Vickers Works, Trafford Park (1945; Manchester City Art Gallery). Cundall became a member of the New English Art Club in 1924, RP in 1933, ARWS in 1935. He was elected ARA in 1937 and RA in 1944. His wife was the artist Jacqueline Pietersen. In the post-war years, Cundall embarked upon a series of painting trips to France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Madeira, New York, Monte Carlo, Austria, Greece, Sussex, and the North of England every year until 1969, when his journeys were limited to London, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Torquay and Dartmouth. One of his last works Dartmouth from Kingswear was painted on his last visit to Dartmouth in 1970. The larger version of the painting was purchased by the Duke of Edinburgh. Charles Cundall died in London on 4 November 1971. A substantial and representative body of his work may be found in the collection of Manchester City Art Gallery. His London Zoo, Elephant Walk may be found in the collection of the RWA.