New official portrait of General Larsson forms part of historic display at International Headquarters

The tradition of Generals of The Salvation Army being immortalised in portrait form has resulted in the legacy of a collection of fine paintings. General Paul A. Rader broke with tradition on his retirement in 1999 by opting for a photograph instead of a painting, and General John Larsson has followed suit – choosing a photograph rather than a painting for his official portrait. General Larsson is pictured here with the chosen photograph, which is now on public display as part of an historic exhibition in the café area of International Headquarters at 101 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London.

The exhibition brings together for the first time ever the 14 portraits of Generals from Bramwell Booth to Paul Rader which once lined the walls of the Bramwell Booth Memorial Hall in the former International Headquarters building, together with the previously undisplayed painting of John Gowans, a little-seen portrait of the Founder, William Booth, and the new portrait of General Larsson.

Strangely, the collection of paintings in the Bramwell Booth Memorial Hall never included one of the Founder. The one on display in the current exhibition normally hangs on the wall of the boardroom at William Booth College, Denmark Hill.

When 101 Queen Victoria Street was vacated in October 2001 before being demolished to make way for the present building, the portraits were put into storage, and have not been seen publicly since then. It is unlikely that they will be seen much in the immediate future either, as the plan is to replace them with smaller photographic reproductions, reproduced in such a way that they look like oil paintings, which will hang on the walls of a corridor leading to the General’s office at IHQ. Where the originals will eventually be hung is still being considered.

The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, can be viewed at any time between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday. It has been staged to coincide with the High Council which will choose the 18th General of The Salvation Army.