What to see and read this week: War art
is at Morley Gallery, Morley College, 61, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1, until November 23 (020–7450 1826; www.morleycollege.ac.uk/gallery) Marking the 75th anniversary of the OUP books of the same title, this show is organised around the themes of the original wartime series—war At Sea, Blitz, R.A.F., Army, Women, Production, Soldiers and Air Raids. An accompanying book includes an essay on the War Artists’ Advisory Committee (WAAC) by Dr Brian Foss and an illustrated catalogue of the 150 pictures by 70 artists in the exhibition (right). For details of associated lectures and study days, visit www.lissfineart.com
Women at War is at The Gallery, 54, Shepherd Market, London W1, from November 14 to 20 (07919 356150; www.simfineart.com) Sim Fine Art’s seventh Annual War Art Exhibition and accompanying new catalogue features newly discovered works by established and lesser-known women artists. A focal point is the rediscovered archive of drawings by Phyllis Pearsall. These charming works by the creator of the London A–Z were commissioned by Graham Greene as a survey of women’s activities during the Second World War.
Reel to Reel: A Century of War Movies is at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1, until January 8, 2017 (020–7416 5000; www.iwm.org.uk) Through clips from major films, costumes, props, scripts, sketches and designs alongside original archival material and artefacts from the museum’s collections, this exhibition explores how film-makers have found inspiration from the personal stories and gripping real events of wars over the past century.
From Norfolk to Normandy: The wartime art of Captain Julian Cory-wright RA by Alan Marshall and Juliet Webster (Mascot Media, £25) tells the life of the talented Royal Artillery officer, who was killed in Normandy in 1944, aged 27. His watercolours, sketches and linocuts depicting the life and landscapes of wartime Britain are reproduced along with excerpts from letters and other writings.
Evelyn Dunbar: A Life in Painting by Christopher Campbell-howes (Romarin, £25) is a part memoir, part biography and part catalogue raisonné of the war artist Evelyn Dunbar (1906–60).