Limited Edition Prints of John Monks’ Painting ‘The Royal Tennis Court’ for Sale
One of Britain’s most important contemporary artists, John Monks, has created an oil painting of RTC and there are a limited number of prints available for purchase.
British artist John Monks recently completed an oil painting of the Royal Tennis Court and is offering Real Tennis enthusiasts and art lovers the opportunity to purchase signed limited edition prints of the painting (which was commissioned by Lesley Ronaldson).
Described as "One of the most important artists working in Britain today" (The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Birmingham), John Monks was born in 1954 in Manchester and studied at Liverpool School of Art and the RCA. His work is in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art in New Haven, Yale Centre for British Art, CAS, Arts Council of Great Britain, Manchester City Art Galleries, Santa Barbara Museum in California, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, among others. In 2013 Monks had a solo exhibition at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham.
Primarily known for paintings of interiors, his subject matter also includes still life and landscapes.
He has exhibited and lectured extensively. He has previously been an artist of study for GCSE Ar, chosen by the Department of Education, UK. In 2025, he was invited by BBC Radio London to be the Listed Londoner on the Robert Elms Show.
"In painting the Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace, I was acutely aware of the historic figures and events associated with it. Yet the contemporary space does not easily reveal these connections,” Monks says of his painting of RTC. “I have always been interested in the notion of painting the unseen. Often the only evidence of the past is in the patina of the space, the cracks and blemishes of time which tell their own story.”
He continues, “In my paintings, I try to build a physical time span in the surface, from the first marks through to the final glaze. I think it essential to build an inner life to the image, rather than to merely illustrate it. It is a vehicle for a dialogue between the artist and the subject that ultimately stands between imagination and reality. My painting of the court stands as a contemporary depiction but also a touchstone to its illustrious past."
The limited edition prints are £900 in total including VAT. This would be unframed but signed by the artist and in a limited edition of Series 1/100. The print would be A1, 59.4cms x 84.1 cms. It is a Giclee print on Museum quality German etching paper.
If you wish to buy a limited edition print and for more information please contact the artist at johnmonks54@outlook.com.
