Today I went with some peers to the National Portrait Gallery. I was enthused by a lot of the work I saw, and my eyes were drawn to one painting in particular due to the colours and style of brushstrokes used in the piece. I particularly like the rough aesthetic of brushwork which made up an image of a man in an RAF uniform, sitting in a chair. Despite the somewhat blurred look, which was achieved from a seemingly loose painting style – I found the work captivating; certainly for the use of bold, warm colours surrounding the sitter. I like the shadows behind his head, and his posture in the chair which, to me, feels weighted – perhaps in light of the man’s career (presumably in the RAF) it can be assumed that he is weighted down by war and ‘duty’. He wears a medal attached to his chest, which suggests a significant role in war.
After observing the painting for some time, I read the information next to it, and realised the painting itself was of Roald Dahl, pre his career as an author. As I continued reading I learned of Dahl’s antisemitism, something I was previously unaware of and so when I got home researched a little more on the subject.
Articles I read –
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/06/roald-dahl-family-apologises-for-his-antisemitis
This discovery/ acknowledgement of Roald Dahl’s darker side lead me to consider the term ‘rebranding’; in particular meaning to discover more about influential persons with a contradicting or controversial story behind them.
Squirrel M. Lambert 
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