Picture this

The IMechE’s collection of oil paintings can now be seen online along with thousands of other treasured works

The IMechE has recently been involved in a nationwide project called Your Paintings. The goal of the project has been to photograph and catalogue all of the oil paintings in public ownership or accessible to the public in the UK. This is in order to increase awareness of the 80% of publicly owned art that is either kept in storage or displayed in inaccessible places. 

The project has involved 211,861 paintings at 3,217 venues and has taken 10 years to complete. You can explore the entire collection at www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings and the institution’s contribution here.  

Thirty oil paintings held by the institution have been included in the project. Here is our pick of three of the highlights.

For many years the institution did not have any portraits of its first president, George Stephenson. During the 1940s a concerted effort was made to acquire a contemporary painting of the great engineer. A portrait of Stephenson painted by Henry Perronet Briggs was donated to the IMechE in 1942 and was a gift from the Institution of Civil Engineers. The IMechE now has seven portraits of Stephenson in sizes ranging from over 1.5m to just 24cm tall.

The institution has commissioned a number of portraits in the past. The most recent was the portrait of Lord Christopher Hinton (above right) which was painted by June Mendoza in 1972. Hinton had a huge impact on the country through his work on nuclear power generation and the development of the national grid. He also served as a member of the IMechE’s council in one capacity or another for 22 years and became president in 1966. 

The portrait was commissioned “as a permanent reminder of his contributions to engineering in general, mechanical engineering in particular and, not least, to the institution itself”. 

Our final selection is unusual in our collection as it commemorates a moment in time as well as an individual. This is “The original Whittle jet engine” (left) by Roderick Lovesey, which shows Frank Whittle at the controls of the original Whittle Unit turbojet at the moment of its first run on 12 April 1937. The painting was donated to the institution by Whittle’s family to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first run. The moment depicted in this painting heralded the beginning of the jet age and is testimony to Whittle’s vision and determination.

Now that the entire collection has been added to the Your Paintings website, members of the public are invited to assist with tagging the things and people depicted in the paintings. 

• If you would like to take part please visit tagger.thepcf.org.uk to find out more.