Salisbury Cathedral by Terence Cuneo; oil on canvas, 1989
Cuneo’s two cathedral paintings celebrate part of Britain’s enduring civil engineering heritage - from the medieval mastery of Salisbury Cathedral to modern innovation at Coventry.
Highly skilled and versatile British artist Terence Cuneo was renowned across his long career for his depictions of large-scale engineering, as well as being the official artist at Elizabeth II’s coronation.
The mouse is at the top of a small spire located in the bottom right-hand corner, adjacent to the main cathedral spire.
Gifted by the Kirby Laing Foundation.
Coventry Cathedral by Terence Cuneo; oil on canvas, 1962
This painting marks the transition from medieval to modern British cathedral engineering. After the original Coventry Cathedral was destroyed in a 1940 air raid, a bold modernist design was unveiled in 1950.
Constructed by John Laing Ltd between the mid-1950s and 1962, the new cathedral showcased cutting-edge engineering, using steel and reinforced concrete. One of its most daring feats - lowering the spire by helicopter - is captured in this painting by Cuneo, who was commissioned to document many of Laing’s landmark projects.
The mouse is sitting on the back of the stone gargoyle in the bottom-left corner.
Gifted by the Kirby Laing Foundation.
For more on the building of Coventry Cathedral click here.