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View of North Bastion, Tower of London, 1941.

William Hampton

It is appropriate that the central collection of the MOD should contain works of art depicting both twentieth century world wars. Activity during the 1939-45 war is widely represented, and again the concentration is on naval activity rather than on land campaigns.

The works of the War artists were presented to the Admiralty and to the War Office in 1946 by the War Artists Advisory Committee. The works of art shown here are all on display in various conference rooms and senior offices around Whitehall.

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. William Hampton 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 Custom 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.