Second World War Art

HMS Glorious in the Arctic, 1940, by Eric Ravilious
HMS Glorious in the Arctic, 1940, by Eric Ravilious

Eric Ravilious became one of the War Artists Advisory Committee’s first official war artists in 1940. This watercolour is typical of Ravilious in the stylised simplicity of form, as well as in the use of texture and cross-hatching for both sky and sea.
Convalescent Nurses Making Camouflage Nets, 1941, by Evelyn Dunbar
Convalescent Nurses Making Camouflage Nets, 1941, by Evelyn Dunbar

Evelyn Dunbar was commissioned to paint the experiences of the Women’s Land Army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service and the nursing services. Women adapting to unfamiliar tasks amidst the circumstances of war is a recurring theme in her paintings.
Glass-blowers 'Gathering' from the Furnace, 1943, by Mervyn Peake
Glass-blowers 'Gathering' from the Furnace, 1943, by Mervyn Peake

Glass blowers are gathering molten glass as part of the production of cathode ray oscillation tubes. By 1943 7,000 tubes were being produced each week. Mervyn Peake was fascinated by the manufacturing process and by the balletic skills of the workforce.
Southern England, 1944. Spitfires Attacking Flying-Bombs, by Thomas Monnington
Southern England, 1944. Spitfires Attacking Flying-Bombs, by Thomas Monnington

Before being employed as a war artist, Monnington had worked at the Directorate of Camouflage. In this painting, modern war machines fly through a scene taken from a Constable painting, relegating the countryside to a backdrop to their deathly conflict.
Parachute Drop, 1943, by Henry Carr
Parachute Drop, 1943, by Henry Carr

Henry Carr painted scenes of London during the blackout and undertook official portrait commissions. Later employed as a war artist, he followed Allied forces through North Africa. This painting shows paratroopers in the process of landing in Algeria.
VE-Day Celebrations Outside Buckingham Palace, 1945, by Leila Faithfull
VE-Day Celebrations Outside Buckingham Palace, 1945, by Leila Faithfull

Leila Faithfull was commissioned to paint WVS subjects in 1940. She later requested to travel to Italy, Egypt or Palestine but was declined. This work from 1945 shows civilians gathered under the trees outside Buckingham Palace, celebrating VE-Day.

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Bird Box Sewing Kit
(Educational, Childrens)
This great craft kit is made in the UK. Not suitable for children under 3.
Retro Game Laripino
(Toys, Traditional)
This simple but inspiring game is both exciting and educational. Exciting as you watch all the marbles rolling down the spiral and anticipate what each will score; educational as each player must use simple addition to add up his or her score....
Retro Jig-Sew kit
(Toys, Creative Kids, Educational, Traditional, Childrens)
Learn the art of sewing with this retro Jig-Sew kit! Sewing cards complete with 4 cards and wool.
Reflections (Education Resource Pack)
(Holocaust, Learning, Facsimilies and Resources, Books)
Drawing upon personal stories, archive photographs, original artefacts and documents featured in the Holocaust Exhibition, this teachers' guide and resource pack is a complete inter-disciplinary scheme of work for Year 9 and GCSE students....

Other IWM websites (9)

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Historic Duxford Historic Duxford is a new exhibition at IWM Duxford, which will tell the story of this famous RAF station 2011-04-13T09:22:36Z http://blogs.iwm.org.uk/historic-duxford/feed/atom/ WordPress Sarah More hidden stories http://blogs.iwm.org....
Marking Holocaust Memorial Day « UKNIWM

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More about the mystery memorial in Christchurch « UKNIWM

More about the mystery memorial in Christchurch « UKNIWM Home About UKNIWM News and articles about war memorials in the UK Feeds: Posts Comments « Derby war memorial in the news Scout memorial stolen » More about the mystery memorial in Christchurch 31...