Hillman Imp, testing in Kenya meets an Elephant

They were testing in Africa. A chap called David Shepherd was the painter [wiki]. "He was painting trees and elephants when they drove past and kicked dust up on his painting. He got rather pissed off, so they stopped and had a chat with him. The test drivers told him all about the car and he asked if he could do some sketches of the Imp and put it into his painting, which he did. When the painting was finished, it was given or sold to Lord Rootes and it is still in his home estate.

Clark Dawson: "Paul Burch, who had a lot to do with Rootes Development, told this story and got Rosemary, himself and me a copy."

 

The above was a fictional story but it reads well!

 

In 2009 when I first saw this painting, I assumed it was by David Shepherd but could not proove this.
I made a copy for myself, framed it and hung it in my office, where it still is today.

I sent a copy to Impressions magazine, Grahame the Imp Clubs editor published it in the February 2010 issue, page 15. This later brought a reply from another Imp Club member, which was published in Impressions April 2010, page 26, Mike Marsh is the member and he is in Bulgaria.

During this time we had tried to find out if David Shepherd had in fact painted the picture? I found nothing, then Sue, Davids PA found my blog and contacted myself. The mail below tells us more about the picture.

 

From: David Shepherd
Sent: Fri. 14-Sep-2012

[...] You have revived many happy memories I have of the Hillman Imp. I am afraid that the situation which you describe, regarding how my painting came about, is complete fiction, although it makes a wonderful story!
I received a commission from the Rootes Group to paint a painting of the Imp in Africa for their calendar; it certainly made an exciting picture. To achieve this I photographed the Imp at the factory and then added my own material for the elephant and baobab tree. I then painted the painting from the photographs and my existing material.
Since receiving your email, we have been doing some research into who owns the painting now. It would be lovely to know where it has ended up as I have long since lost track of it. Do you have any information as to its whereabouts?
Many thanks for your interest and I hope that I have answered your questions.
Best regards
David Shepherd

 

We are now trying to find the original, we have a signed copy which will be sent to David to see if its good enough for him to allow copies to be made, more on this later!

 

Roy