Wellington Bomber Drawn on the Day Hitler Invaded Belgium

Image credit: Royal Air Force Museum

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Notes

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This watercolour is part of ‘Aerial Creatures’, the second exhibited series of work by Paul Nash on Air Ministry subjects commissioned through the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. The composition is based upon Nash's photograph of a partially covered Wellington bomber which he took when visiting an airfield (Tate Archive). In this series of works, he developed ideas about the ‘personalities of planes’, suggesting that machines were the ‘real protagonists’ of the war. He described the Wellington bomber as ‘very human in one way’ and resembling the whale. However, Nash's imaginative approach was not appreciated by the Air Ministry which preferred scenes that celebrated RAF heroes and faithfully recorded aircraft design and, therefore, terminated his contract.

Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon

London

Title

Wellington Bomber Drawn on the Day Hitler Invaded Belgium

Date

1940

Medium

watercolour on paper

Accession number

L001-1761

Acquisition method

on loan from the Air Historical Branch (MOD)

Work type

Watercolour

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Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon

Grahame Park Way, London, Greater London NW9 5LL England

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