Wing Commander Robert A C Carter DSO by Eric Kennington, pastel on paper

This pastel portrait is one of many made by Eric Kennington during his two-year full-time Official War Artist commission with the Air Ministry through the War Artists' Advisory Committee. A renowned portraitist, he was tasked with portraying high-ranking men in the RAF.

Robert Carter rose through the ranks of the RAF, beginning as an apprentice and serving as Wing Commander at the time of this portrait. He had received the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership of No. 150 Squadron during bombing raids on German battleships. For Kennington, Carter represented an alternative story to the ‘Nobs’ - upper class men in positions of power – that he usually depicted for the Air Ministry. From the Air Ministry allocation of works from the War Artists' Advisory Committee, 1947. Original accession number: LD1657. On loan from the RAF Air Historical Branch (MOD). Copyright: Crown (expired) / RAF Museum.