Overview

During the Second World War, Britain's skies were transformed by the drone of aircraft, factory workers toiled around the clock to produce new types of fighters and bombers, and newsreels told stirring stories of aircrews' courage and survival. From within the Ministry of Information in central London, dozens of artists were commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee to record these activities - among them Eric Ravilious, Eric Kennington, Paul Nash and Mervyn Peake. The Air War in Paintings reveals how the artists of the 1940s responded to the unfolding air war in Britain, illuminating their private anxieties, ambitions and experiences. Drawing on IWM's unrivalled collection, this richly illustrated book explores how art was used to build an intimate record of the RAF and the wider war effort at that crucial time.

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9781912423750

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Elegantly written and lavishly illustrated - a gripping study of art and war by one of UK's experts. Joanna Bourke, Professor Emerita of History, Birkbeck, University of London In the Second World War few combatant nations devoted as much material and human resources to the war in the air as the British. With every aspect of the nation's war effort linked to aviation, it was a subject with a huge profile in wartime discourse. Suzanne Bardgett's fascinating exploration of the visual representation of the air war reveals the depth and breadth of the images created, under official sponsorship, and how they have become iconic of a nation in the midst of total war. Mark Connelly, Professor of Modern History, University of Kent Suzanne Bardgett has assembled a beautifully reproduced and presented array of paintings dedicated to Britain's war in the air. Her astute choice of paintings (accompanied by an authoritative commentary) encompasses not just flyboy glamour, but the more mundane material and human infrastructure of airfields and workshops that sustained them. Particularly commendable in this expertly-curated selection is the significant presence of women, both as subjects and artists, while all the paintings allow us a unique access to the intimate and quotidian dimension to total war. Martin Francis, Professor of War and History, University of Sussex

Author Information

Suzanne Bardgett is a freelance author who was formerly Head of Research and Academic Partnerships at Imperial War Museums.

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