Linley artwork for Cunard ship

David Linley must be a brave man. Not only has he taken on the task of creating a huge decorative panel for the Grand Lobby of Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Elizabeth, but he agreed to show off the design for the first time at a reception in his London furniture showroom.
As guests mingled last night, surrounded by items which have been hailed as “the antiques of the future,” sampling tasty canapes and drinking the finest Champagne, Pinot Grigio and Fleurie, no-one dared put a glass down and leave an unsightly stain on a table with a price tag of £16,500.
Linley, the Queen’s nephew, has been commissioned to provide fittings for luxury yachts, but never anything on the scale of this 18ft 6in Art Deco marquetry panel depicting the original liner Queen Elizabeth, which was launched by his grandmother in 1938.
“This is the first sea-going work we have done on this scale – it is certainly the largest screen we have ever made – but it was a commission I was delighted to accept,” he said last night.
“I recall my father saying the interior design on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 made one proud to be British, so I am hoping our achievement on the new Queen Elizabeth will make him equally proud.”
The panel, made with decorative woods including ebony, walnut, sycamore, burr ash, and bird’s eye maple, will span two-and-a-half decks of the ship, looking down on sweeping central staircase, and will be among the first things passengers see when they embark on the ship.
Cunard President and managing director Peter Shanks (pictured above left with Linley) said: “We needed to fill that space with a decorative screen which would not just be dramatic, but would also reflect our emphasis on traditional and sumptuous materials.
“No-one is better qualified for this detailed and monumental work than David Linley, whose creative ability and mastery of wood is renowned.”
When complete, the panel will be shipped to Monfalcone in Italy, where Queen Elizabeth is nearing completion. The 92,000-ton ship, which will carry more than 2,000 passengers, will embark on her maiden voyage from Southampton on October 12.
No official announcement has been made on who will officially name the new ship, but it is likely that the Queen, who launched the QE2 in 1967, will perform the task.
Entertainment Director Alastair Greener, who writes the official We Are Cunard blog, was also at last night’s unveiling, Here’s his video report, along with interviews with Peter Shanks and David Linley.