• MOD home
• defence for...
• about defence
• defence news
• A - Z index
• contact us
• help

Search defence:

Search Scope:

Defence

Bomb damage to HM Customs House. London, 1942.

Alistair Stewart

Among the better known war artists were a small London-based group commissioned to record the effect of bomb damage on well-known buildings.

These artists, employed by the Ministry of Works, were given special access to damaged government buildings - but they were hampered by a lack of canvas on which to paint. Alistair Stewart solved the problem by producing paintings such as this one on utility hardboard.

Throughout the wartime period a small team of artist-restorers, working for the Artists' Section of the Ministry of Works, were responsible for the care and maintenance of public works of art. This team built on a long tradition of employing artists in a dual role as painting conservators.

At the outset of the London Blitz, some of these artists were asked to record damage to significant buildings such as the Tower of London and HM Customs House.

The official war artists commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee were all, at this point, deployed out of London, and among the few people available and capable of undertaking the task were Alistair Stewart and William Hampton.