Swooping Down on a Taube from The Great War: Britain's Efforts and Ideals
Made shortly after Nevinson was named an official British war artist in 1917, Swooping Down on a Taube belongs to the series The Great War: Britain’s Efforts and Ideals, a government-sponsored, multi-artist propaganda series intended to be displayed around the country and sold to raise funds for the war effort. As part of his research, Nevinson flew over the English countryside—his first time in an airplane. The experience led him to later recall "the whole newness of vision and the excitement" it conjured, which had a profound impact on his work. Here, in a more somber image, he depicted a British plane attacking a German Taube, which, faintly visible at the bottom of the composition, is portrayed so as to resemble a bird.
Artwork Details
- Title: Swooping Down on a Taube from The Great War: Britain's Efforts and Ideals
- Artist: Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (British, London 1889–1946 London)
- Date: 1917 (published 1918)
- Medium: Lithograph
- Dimensions: Image: 15 3/4 × 11 13/16 in. (40 × 30 cm)
Sheet: 18 in. × 13 3/8 in. (45.7 × 34 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, PECO Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.592.631
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
1916
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
ca. 1918
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
1917
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
1918
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson
1920
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