National Portrait Gallery- Warpaint lecture

Having been to the Jerwood Drawing Exhibition, I moved on to the NPG to hear a lecture on Warpaint: Women Artists in the War.

During WWII, Kenneth Clark of the War Artist Advisory Committee commissioned 5000 works, from 400 artists.  Of these, only 13% were women artists!  During the war, the art market for private commissions collapsed, so the WAAC was a key patron in wartime.  Some artists had 6 month salaried positions, some artworks were commissioned and some were speculative purchases.  Examples shown were by Nash of The Battle of Britain, and Pitchforth's WAAFs Packing Parachutes.

All works purchased had to be approved by the Wartime Artist Advisory Ctte and the Censor.  For example, Laura Knight's portrait of WAAF  Corporal Pearson was originally painted with her holding a rifle, but this was ordered to be changed and painted over with a gas mask, as WAAFs were unarmed staff.  The WAAC regularly had fierce negotiations over prices with wat artists.  Pre 1939 Laura Knight charged 300 guineas for a society portrait.  The WAAC regularly tried to get 3 portraits in one artwork, and tried to negotiate the price down to 50guineas!   Laura Knight made this commission into one solo portrait (price unknown) and one dual portrait for 60 guineas.   The style was socialist realist art (whatever that is!) which to me looks like a detailed version of 1950s poster art.  Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring was the most well known commission and was used in a lot of war propaganda as it positively promoted the role of women in wartime factory work.  This style of artwork was praised by some for its accuracy as it fulfilled it's brief, but received little critical accolade.

There was a difference in the taste of commissions for the home market, and commissions for black propaganda to undermine the morale of the enemy.  Official art hides things and shows the palatable side of war art - lots of commissions of land army girls and nurses eg Evelyn Dunbar's Land Army Girls Going to Bed.  Lots of work showing attractive scenes of British agricultural life.  Nursing commissions also popular - fits with a suitable role for British women in wartime.  Black propaganda showed dreadful images of fatalities of an air raid, dropped by the Allies on U boat bases.  Examples of unofficial art were shown, demonstrating how this is designed to undermine via salacious licentiousness - an image of a foreign soldier with his trousers undone and a huge erection, with a naked German housefrau, who appeared to be quite happy about it!

Another point made during the lecture was that there are many more female war artists now. During the Falklands War in 1982, Linda Kitson did 200 drawings, 50 of which are in the Imperial War Museum art collection.  Many independent artists working now.  Imperial War Museum now commissions 40% of its new works from women.

A very interesting evening.