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At the Coal Face

© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: National Coal Mining Museum for England

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Dring is best known as a painter, draughtsman and teacher. During World War II, Dring became an Official War Artist. As part of his duties he was also asked to capture the essential industries and the civilians who contributed to the war effort, including the coal industry and its workers. During the mid-1940s, he visited Betteshanger Colliery in Kent. Betteshanger was the last colliery to open in Kent, in 1924, and the last to close, in 1989. Dring’s experience at Betteshanger resulted in two mining portraits, 'At the Coal Face' (1946) and 'Coal Miners' (1947). In 'At the Coal Face', the viewer cannot help being drawn into the painting by the inclusion of the miner shown in the foreground, who appears to have paused momentarily from his work.

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Wakefield

Title

At the Coal Face

Date

1946

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 100 x W 85 cm

Accession number

YKSMM: 2004.210

Acquisition method

purchased, 2003

Work type

Painting

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National Coal Mining Museum for England

Caphouse Colliery, New Road, Overton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF4 4RH England

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