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See & Do

Festival of Britain, 1951

The Festival of Britain attracted millions of visitors from May to September of 1951, seeking to tell the story of British achievements in science and art, and raise spirits following the end of the Second World War.

Black and white photo of a large outdoor exhibition space filled with people.

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Black and white photo of a large, square building with the words 'Royal Festival Hall' on the side.

Black and white photo of a pedestrian bridge by a large artificial lake, with a viewing tower behind.

Black and white photo of a wide river with a bridge. Across the river is a dock with a few boats moored, and the exhibition spaces used for the Festival of Britain.

Black and white photo of a large outdoor exhibition space filled with people. A sculpture of a man holding a spear and fish are on the side of a building that reads 'sea and ships'.

Three black and white photos of a dome-shaped sculpture, which is covered with drawings of insects on one side and cave painting style drawings of wildebeest on the other. In the background of the central photo there is a large outline drawing of a mammoth on the wall behind.

Colourful illustration in a book for the Festival of Britain. It features a large red flag with the word 'guide' on it, and a centaur, towers, the sun, moon and stars behind.

Book page showing two black and white vintage adverts. The top half advertises Gordon's Gin. The lower half shows a mermaid fountain, with the text 'Meet at the Lockheed Fountain in the Festival Gardens'.

Black and white photo of a large outdoor exhibition space filled with people. In the foreground, a man and a woman are looking at a sculpture of two people with branches twisting around them.

Black and white photo of a man and a woman looking at a sculpture of two people with branches twisting around them.

Black and white photo of an older man holding sculpting tools, stood behind a sculpture of a mermaid. The mermaid is reclining on a turtle, with two fish at her feet and another held close to her head.

Illustrated advert for Lockheed Hydraulic Brakes, with a painted reproduction of the 'Lockheed Fountain' - a mermaid reclining on a turtle, which is spraying water upwards. Fish are at her feet and in her arms, also spraying water.

Black and white photo of a fountain-sculpture depicting a mermaid, turtle and fish spraying water. A group of formally dressed men wearing long coats and hats are stood behind the fountain.

Black and white photo of a man standing on a rail to work on a dome-shaped sculpture, which is covered with drawings of insects, each around two feet long.

About the festival

Following the Second World War, the Festival of Britain was organised to show that post-war Britain was a promising place, full of scientific and design innovation. It aimed to bring people together in a time dominated by war debt and austerity, with London still recovering from bomb damage.

In the archive we have material relating to the festival of Britain from various collections. We are lucky to have original ephemera from the festival, including an enamel pin badge and several souvenir postcards that show images of the festival in action.

Artists in the festival

We also have primary material from the time in some of our individual sculptors’ collections, giving insight into the festival from a range of different perspectives.

Arthur Fleischmann archive

Arthur Fleishmann

Arthur Fleischmann created a fountain for the festival in collaboration with Lockheed Hydraulic Brake Company, bringing together art and technology. Titled Miranda, but generally referred to as the Lockheed Fountain due to the collaboration, the work was situated in the festival’s ‘Pleasure Gardens’.

It is in Fleischmann’s collection that we also find the colourful ‘Guide to the Pleasure Gardens, Battersea Park’, a souvenir guide for visitors, which gives explanations of works on display as well as lovely 50’s advertisements.

Mitzi Cunliffe

Also exhibiting at the festival was Mitzi Cunliffe with her sculpture Root Bodied Forth. Its intertwined branches or roots was intended as a ‘tonic for the nation’ and to show hope for humanity to harmonise once again with nature.

We are very lucky to have the maquette for this work as part of the Leeds Sculpture Collection.

Franta Belsky

Another sculptor from our archive who took part in the festival was Czech sculptor Franta Belsky. Belskys’s work was exhibited in the ‘Dome of Discovery’.

Photos show him working on the sculpture at night, ready for the opening. This was Belsky’s first public commission in Britain and helped to build his world-class reputation.

What’s in the collection?

Holdings relating directly to the Festival of Britain include six souvenir postcard photographs produced by Raphael Tuck & Sons, and an enamelled ‘Festival of Britain’ pin badge.

We have additional material that makes reference to the festival in the archives of Franta Belsky, Mitzi Cunliffe, Frank Dobson, and Arthur Fleischmann.