Winged Figure: Icarus by John Armstrong, oil on canvas

This is one of many semi-abstract works on the Greek mythological theme of Icarus which British Surrealist John Armstrong made between 1939 and 1968, spanning the Second World War to the Cold War.

Icarus, with his hand-made wings of feathers and wax, flew ambitiously high but too close to the sun. The story of Icarus represents both human progress and hubris. Armstrong used him to personify technological and political developments in the modern world and described Icarus as a symbol of 'the world flying too close to the sun of knowledge and getting destroyed in the process.' Shown as a cracked globe with feathered wings, his early Icarus paintings (see Tate Collection N05257) symbolised the tragedy of aerial warfare. This post-war version with skeletal wings suggested the threat of nuclear annihilation amid the escalating Cold War arms race. Armstrong painted over 30 variations on the Icarus theme. His final painting represented Icarus in the throes of death, as a broken figure: the globe, stem, and fragmented wings lie prostrate on a raised burial mound. Exhibited: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1969, cat. 66; Royal Academy, 'John Armstrong 1893-1973', 1975, cat. 139. Purchased in 1976. Artist copyright: the artist's estate and Bridgeman Images. Image copyright: RAF Museum.