These Extraordinary Artworks Tell The Story Of D-Day

Before, during and after the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, artists were in the thick of the activity, observing and recording the campaign. IWM has a collection of artwork relating to D-Day thanks to the efforts of the War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), the body that oversaw Britain’s official war art scheme during the Second World War.

Here are ten selections that show different aspects of D-Day, from training and seascapes to the people involved in the conflict.

Bawden’s use of colour and shadow adds a heightened mood of tension and apprehension to these most secretive of scenes. Intriguingly, no mention is made of his assignment at Dunwich in either the War Artists Advisory Committee correspondence or minutes.

Eurich was a natural choice for this commission, being capable of combining information from eyewitness accounts, verbal description, photographs and published documentation as well as personal knowledge and imagination to create this ambitious work. His familiarity with the coastline near Southampton allowed him to set the scene for this epic painting, evoking the grand scale of the D-Day operations as well as a brooding sense of calm before the storm. Eurich’s distinctive style of painting has been compared to that of the sixteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, whose work shows a similar attention to distant detail and purposeful activities. Indeed, the gaping ship’s doors seem to echo Breughel’s 'Mouth of Hell' in Dulle Griet, making a visual equation between war and hell which accords with Eurich’s Quaker background and beliefs.

Ardizzone, a sociable and outgoing character, had a knack for getting himself in the right place at the right time: 'When an invasion of Europe was obviously imminent, I asked to be present at the landing and was told by PR that I could only be put on shore 23 days after the event. Then I met some friends from the 50th Division and they at once said, "Come along with us!"' He crossed the Channel on 12 June and records his time on the LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) in his diary for that day: 'On deck at 6.15, make myself some cocoa in a self-heating tin. Glorious morning and feel much better. Weather brilliant as we approach the French coast. A multitude of craft in every direction and of all shapes and kinds, from battleships to the oddest looking things afloat.'

By D-Day he was a captain with the Royal Engineers, but he sustained an injury after crossing the Channel. Although he did not have an official commission, like many artists he took the opportunity to make some drawings of his experiences. He wrote to the WAAC and they agreed to buy three drawings in August 1944. The drawings document his progress: the first drawn from the landing craft as it crossed the channel, the second showing the landing on Green Beach, and this work titled We Lie at the Beach Dressing Station and Wonder how the Battle is Going: D Day 6th June 1944.

He used as a drawing board 'a panel ripped out of this shelled house and so if I get capsized on my way home...I might float awhile on my own drawing'. He made this painting from the drawing, completing it in 1947. Teeming with detail, it pays tribute to a remarkable piece of engineering, the scale of the project and the teamwork of the men labouring together under a heavy ominous sky.

Bone accompanied the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force to Normandy, where he also documented post-landing inland scenes in towns and cities such as Courseulles-sur-Mer and Caen, as well as the assault on Walcheren Island in the Netherlands.

Drawings, such as this one of a wrecked V1 flying bomb launch site, were used by the WAAC to publicise the destruction of the 'secret weapon’ bases. He followed the action into the Netherlands before returning to Britain in early 1945. His next assignment was with the Air Ministry in the Far East. However, after heading out in May he was eventually reported missing from Java in November 1945.

Richards was the only surviving officer in his platoon by the time they had all landed and took charge, assisting them to reach their objective two hours before the land troops were due. He made a series of watercolours showing the landscape that he witnessed. Gliders were sent over the Channel to transport troops and supplies to Normandy before and after the invasion. Here Richards shows the remains of the craft as adding colour and curiosity to the bleak landscape.

He was a perceptive observer of people in their environments and drew the scenes that greeted him in France. He was also resourceful, managing to acquire a revamped German car from his friends in the Royal Army Service Corps which allowed him to get close to the action. The people pictured here were seeking refuge from the Allied bombing at a camp south of Bayeux.