WAR ARTISTS AT SEA

Location Queen’s House, Greenwich

15 February 2014 – February 2015

The Royal Museums Greenwich’s collection of First and Second World War art is bought together for  this new programme of displays in the Queen’s House includes visually arresting and moving portraits, battle scenes, and depictions of everyday life during conflict, by artists including: Leslie Cole, Eric Ravilious, Richard Eurich, Norman Wilkinson, Stephen Bone, William Dring, John Worsley, Gladys E Reed, John Kingsley Cook and Charles Wheeler.

Paintings and Sculpture

15 February 2014 – February 2015

Charged with the task of revealing a ‘truth’ that went beyond the simple recording of events, official war art served the purposes of commemoration, instruction, documentation and propaganda as well as raising morale at home and on the front line. These four rooms examine the home front, action at sea, life above and below deck and the faces of war though exemplary works by Eurich, Wilkinson, Bone and Wheeler, among others.

Works on Paper: William Dring, Gladys E Reed, John Kingsley Cook and John Worsley

15 March – 15 July 2014

Two rooms are devoted to sketches, pastels and watercolours, all of which tell a personal story of war. William Dring was a portraitist and an official war artist to the Admiralty and Air Ministry; his works predominantly in pastel captured the faces of distinguished war heroes and young naval servicemen with the same psychological intensity. The highly talented but as yet unknown Gladys E Reed provides a contrast to the well-documented Dring, and her intimate sketches, made throughout her service as a Wren on her ‘off-watch’ time reveal what life was like for women working during the war.

Works on Paper: Everett and Ravilious

15 August – 15 December 2014

The themes of Modern British Art and the War at Sea make up the focus of two rooms displaying works by First and Second World War artists. The first room is devoted to John Everett, an official First World War artist and a practical deep-water sailor. Everett’s work showcases his interest in, and interpretation of, the military’s use of ‘dazzle’ – a colourful camouflaging technique used to disguise ships. At his death in 1949, he bequeathed all remaining maritime works in his possession to the National Maritime Museum which holds the most important collection of his paintings and works on paper in the world. The second room concentrates on Second World War artists’ responses to modernity, among them Eric Ravilious, one of the few official war artists to be killed whilst on duty.

Exhibition information for visitors:

Venue:                          Queen’s House, Greenwich

Dates:                           15 February 2014 – February 2015

Opening times:           every day, 10.00 – 17.00. The Queen’s House occasionally closes for private events, please call or check online before making your journey

Visitor enquiries:       020 8312 6565

Admission:                  Free