Portrait of the Day
It was the year of the Queen’s Coronation, and the PICTURE POST published a “Special Coronation Souvenir” of their popular magazine. Published on the 6th June and costing 1 shilling, (the normal cost was 4d) this was set to become a collector’s edition.
For the first time a pavement artist was featured as “Portrait of the Day”
Portrait of the Day: PICTURE POST; June 1953
Joseph Lee will be up all night on Coronation Eve—he expects business to be good. For 37 years this artist has covered his stretch of pavement, at the top end of Knightsbridge, with royal portraits and copies of the Old Masters. He was there at the Coronation of George VI. And he remembers the days before 1937 when the late King was Duke of York; when he lived “just up the road” at 145 Piccadilly—and would bring the two Princesses along to drop a few coins into his hat.
pavement artist Joseph Lee. Original PICTURE POST photo: 1953
Joseph Lee was known as “Rembrandt Lee.” He wore a large, soft beret, which he spread on the pavement for contributions from tourists. In his beret, he bore a striking resemblance to the painter, Rembrandt van Rijn. In the 1950s he was invited to Amsterdam, where he was feted as talented curiosity.
Screever Cartoon. Published in the PICTURE POST; April 1953
The Picture Post was a prominent photo-journalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It was considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. It has been called the Life magazine of the United Kingdom.
If you are related to, or have any more information on Joseph Lee, I’d love to hear from you.
Researched and written by Philip Battle
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