The 1930s was the great age of the motor car and touring the open road was almost mandatory for the vehicle owning classes. This idealised vision of the countryside was promoted by motoring organisations and any number of guide-books. Despite not being a driver himself, Eric found inspiration in this landscape. His paintings have a soft almost dreamlike quality and it is this undulating countryside with its endless lonely lane and line of poles that I find so endearing. Apparently, Eric only added the van at a later point having seen it in a Post Office magazine.
Captain Eric Ravilious served as a war artist but was killed at the age of 39 whilst aboard a Lockheed Hudson of RAF 269 squadron on a search and rescue mission off Iceland.
This painting, bristling with telegraph poles, lot #129, going, going, went for £242,500 at Christie’s, London in June 2014.
Meanwhile, I looked again at one of the photos in the previous post – a version of which had been used as January of our 2024 TPAS Calendar and I thought of Eric Ravilious. So I wanted to see what I could do myself. So I dug out my best gouache paints, some round and flat brushes and my favourite fine-tipped sable hair brush. I decided a 250gm heavy paper with a bit of texture to hold the paint and avoid warping would probably be best. Then I set up my easel, put on my smock and artist’s bucket hat and then got down to work….”ChatGPT please can you remake this image in the style of a Ravilious painting?”
We’ll start the bidding at £100,000. Who’ll give me £100,000? Thank you, £110,000? Yes sir, do I hear £120,000? …
Click images to enlarge…