Wellington Bomber Drawn on the Day Hitler Invaded Belgium by Paul Nash, watercolour on paper

This watercolour is part of ‘Aerial Creatures’, the second exhibited series of work by Paul Nash on Air Ministry subjects commissioned through the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. The composition is based upon Nash's photograph of a partially covered Wellington bomber which he took when visiting an airfield (Tate Collection).

When the Second World War began Nash was Britain’s leading modern painter. In this series of works, he developed ideas about the ‘personalities of planes’, suggesting that machines were the ‘real protagonists’ of the war. He described the Wellington bomber as ‘very human in one way’ and resembling the whale. However, Nash's imaginative approach was not appreciated by the Air Ministry which preferred scenes that celebrated RAF heroes and aircraft design and, therefore, terminated his contract. From the Air Ministry allocation of works from the War Artists' Advisory Committee, 1947. Original accession number: LD461. On loan from the RAF Air Historical Branch (MOD). Artist copyright: Crown (expired). Image copyright: RAF Museum.