ABOUT TERENCE

The Cuneo Estate exists to provide information on and encourage
an appreciation of both Terence Cuneo (1907-1996) and his father
Cyrus Cuneo (1879-1916).

 

Terence Cuneo was born in London, the son of Cyrus Cincinato Cuneo (1879–1916) and Nell Marion Tenison (1881–1964) both of whom were artists and had met while studying under James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) in Paris.

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As his father before him, Cuneo initially worked for publications such as The Illustrated London News, producing quick oil on board illustrations to accompany printed stories and articles.  During World War II he served as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers and was commissioned by the Foreign Office to produce anti-Nazi drawings and cartoons which were used as propaganda. He also completed illustrations of tank and aircraft factories for the War Artists Advisory Committee.
 

After the war, Cuneo became popular as a society portrait painter and in 1952 was
commissioned to paint the Visit of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to the Department of Engineering. It was his official painting of the Coronation of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 1953 which brought his name before the public worldwide. This led to an enduring relationship with the Royal Family and he painted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip several times in both formal situations and in more relaxed settings

as is shown in his painting of Her Majesty with Her dogs at Frogmore in 1974. 

 

Cuneo is also known for his vast canvases depicting heavy industry, such as the

construction of the Hoover Dam in 1956 but he is perhaps best known for his locomotive paintings and is still considered to be the foremost painter in this field, successfully capturing not only the mighty weight, power and speed of these ‘iron horses’ but also the romanticism of the age of steam. Cuneo had a deep love of steam trains and often rode on the footplate and in the engine compartment whilst drawing and researching his subjects. His train paintings were turned into advertising posters for British Rail and became synonymous with train travel at that time. They were also used to advertise Hornby trainsets and in 1985 Royal Mail featured five of his train paintings on a special set of stamps entitled ‘Famous Trains’. Cuneo’s 1967 painting of Waterloo Station stands at a whopping 6 x 3.6 metres and hangs in the National Railway Museum in York.
 

In addition to this Cuneo became the pre-eminent military painter of his time fulfilling
commissions for many varied Regiments of the British Army. He depicted conflicts
through the ages ranging from the 17 th Century to the Falklands War in 1982, often
recreating famous battle scenes in his local Oxshott Woods using serving soldiers and real military hardware. This was another subject he enjoyed immersing himself in whether he was driving tanks or hanging out of helicopters whilst sketching a reconstruction taking place hundreds of feet below.
 

Cuneo liked to travel and painted or sketched wherever he went with the local wildlife
being of particular interest. His love of horse-riding came from a trip to Arizona in 1956 where he was made Deputy Marshall of Tombstone. He could frequently be spotted in full ‘wild-west’ regalia riding his beloved horse Shadow in Oxshott Woods. One of his last trips was to the Antarctic when he was well into his 80s.
 

Being a keen animal lover Cuneo felt he should pay tribute to the little mouse that his
cat presented to him as a gift one day, and fixed the mouse in position so he could paint the creature. This led to a series of humorous ‘mouse portraits’ where mice were personified as both historical and fictional characters. The mouse became his trademark after 1956 and he would secrete a small fellow in every painting from then on. They can be difficult to detect and many people enjoy scouring his paintings to find the mouse! 
 

Cuneo left an enormous catalogue of work. His pictures hang in Palaces, Museums and Galleries, Military Messes, Boardrooms and private homes all over the world. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1987 and a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 1994 Birthday Honours. 
 

In 1996 Terence Cuneo died of heart-failure. He was cremated at the Randalls Park
Crematorium, Leatherhead, Surrey. A memorial plaque was installed on a newly built house that replaced his home in East Molesey.  This was organised by the
Cuneo Society (https://thecuneosociety.org/)
 

He is survived by one daughter and three grandchildren.