The Prudential Remembers

In this oil painting the artist, Kathleen Allen, has depicted a birds-eye view of a memorial service held on Remembrance Sunday at Holborn Bar.
The service centred around a memorial sculpture by Alfred Toft which was erected in 1924 to commemorate the 22,000 Royal Fusiliers who died during the war. It was watched from behind a curtained window at the artist's flat in High Holborn, across the road from the Prudential Assurance Building.

Since 1919 the Prudential had held a ceremony of remembrance each year on 11 November; however, despite the painting's title, which was given by the artist, the event depicted has no connection with the Prudential other than proximity.

This is one of a small number of works by the artist in the Museum of London's collection. A painter, muralist, designer and teacher, Allen exhibited under the name Saywell Allen prior to the Second World War. During the war, she was seconded by the city to record war industries.