It was originally painted for the interior of Westminster Cathedral as part of a unique collaboration between Doig and composer and pianist Stephen Hough. The painting was unveiled on the cathedral’s high altar for a fundraising concert in October 2009, providing a monumental backdrop to Hough’s piano recital. Ascension was inspired by the cathedral’s architecture and its mosaic depicting the heavens. Yet the motif of a figure climbing a coconut tree is distilled from Doig’s home-movie shot on a Trinidadian beach, a theme he revisited in recent paintings following his move from London to the Caribbean island in 2002.
