Whitley Bomber: Dawn Return by C.R.W. Nevinson, oil on canvas

Christopher Nevinson’s painting represents a Whitley bomber coming in to land, returning from a night raid over Germany during the Battle of Britain.

It is one of three aerial-themed paintings he submitted in November 1940 for the War Artists’ Advisory Committee (WAAC) to purchase as an artistic record of the Second World War. Like Paul Nash, Nevinson had been a famed artist of the First World War when his work was abstract in style and celebrated the theme of mechanised warfare. However, after abandoning abstraction for subjects painted in a more naturalistic style, reviews of his work became less favourable. The WAAC declined to purchase this painting. Purchased in 1987. Copyright: expired / RAF Museum.