'The Squadron Leader of the Blues and Royals' (All photos: Ripley)
British fine art photographer and artist Ripley is widely known for creating his signature large-scale artworks by combining high-resolution digital composite photography with extensive post-production work, and he has something up his sleeve in London this month.
Ripley will showcase 12 of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at The Lanesborough, a five-star luxury hotel at Hyde Park Corner in Knightsbridge, until July 6. The soldiers from The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, who are primarily tasked with ceremonial duties, are mounted on their horses and posed atop buildings all over London, overlooking the capital from Trafalgar Square to Canary Wharf.
One of them shows the Corporal Major of the Blues and Royals holding the Sovereign’s Standard while looking out from The Lanesborough with the Wellington Arch and The Duke of Wellington’s London residence, Apsley House, in the background.
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Ripley employs a special technique he has perfected over time to produce prints that are enormous. His main area of interest is Thoroughbred Racehorses, which he creates in exquisite detail and clarity while evoking the style of the master painters of horses.
Among his notable works is the portrait of Estimate, which he completed in May 2016 for Queen Elizabeth II after six months of intense photography and compositing. He was contacted by John Warren, the late Queen’s adviser on bloodstock and racing, about doing the artwork on the Queen’s horse Estimate, which was ridden by Ryan Moore, trained by Sir Michael Stoute and had led the Royals to a historic triumph in the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup.
Ripley’s works are a sight to behold, given the size and magnitude, but it is his attention to detail that often leaves viewers awestruck. You can almost feel the fine hair follicles of the majestic horses as they shimmer against the sunlight. The artworks of the feathered feet horses are also mesmerising.
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All of these large-scale prints will be offered for sale as individual works, with prices ranging from £19,000 (RM112,327) to £257,000, as collections (prices vary) and as a boxed set of 12 prints in a smaller size.
The Household Cavalry Foundation, whose duty of care stretches from operational casualties, veterans and dependents to the Cavalry’s heritage and the welfare of its retired horses, will receive half the proceeds from the sale of these limited editions.
This article first appeared on June 26, 2023 in The Edge Malaysia.
