Decoration of big liners
IT is to be hoped that Mr Arthur Davis and those responsible for the decoration of Queen Mary are concentrating on making her a sensible and comfortable ship rather than a record-breaking palace. A good deal of disappointment has been caused by the vulgar over-decoration of the Normandie. The Council of Art and Industry, of which Mr Frank Pick is Chairman, is having a lot to do with [the work], with the intention of making her representative of the best... design.
‘Among the artists engaged are Duncan Grant, Rex Whistler, Vanessa Bell, the Bones and the Zinkeisen sisters… The Cunard-white Star are to be congratulated on their enlightenment, and it will be clear that the Company are not excessively academic in their tastes from their invitation to Stanley Spencer for a decoration in the dining-saloon.’ (Country Notes, June 29, 1935)