Beauty and Destruction: Wartime London in Art
Imperial War Museum
The government set up a War Artists' Advisory Committee in 1939 to document the war and its effect on London as well as promote the country's image. On the side, war artists didn't need to go into combat, so doing this work would protect them from the war.
Frances MacDonald was among a group of artists given access to floating harbours under construction in preparation for D-Day. Authorities even built a small studio on the quay for her 3 month stay.
This 1941 work by Graham Sutherland shows an area north of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Henry Carr painted St. Clement Danes Church on fire after a bombing in 1941. Only the facade survived.
The National Fire Service was created in 1941 that unified provincial brigades. This scene shows a rapidly deployable trailer pump that is pulled by a taxi.
These are curtain fasteners so light will not be visible outside to enemy bombers.
This first aid kit had supplies such as burn dressings and iodine solution for a family of 6 or 7.
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