Felix Kelly’s Windsor Castle Murals

Felix Kelly was commissioned to paint this set of five panels for the restaurant of an ocean liner in the 1960s. They were painted in acrylic on plywood and were put into storage when the ship was scrapped.

They have recently re-emerged from storage and have been given a new lease of life. Part of the challenge with conserving the panels was that the acrylic was sensitive to aqueous cleaning. Kelly had selectively varnished the paint surface, which helped to protect the sensitive paint to a certain extent. The central panel had been cut in three parts at the bottom to create a small door and the cut out pieces were precariously attached with wooden battens and metal plates. The pieces were re-attached with wooden bridges and the joins at the front were filled and retouched to reintegrate with the surrounding paint.

The panels now hang proudly  in a boarding room in Central London. They were installed by IFACS onto a sub-frame with two movable panels to allow access to an air conditioning unit.

Kelly depicted a known couple at the centre of the composition. Can you tell who they are?