Night Raid on Portsmouth Docks, 1941

In a letter to Sydney Schiff (18 May 1942) Eurich wrote: 'Every square inch was painted complete, step by step, in glazes over a white ground ... full of startling detail and colour, hardly any white being used. I am hoping the result will be like a stained glass window in richness.' Arriving in Portsmouth the morning after the raid, which was a very heavy one, Eurich was laughingly told by an officer that his 'studio', an observation tower in the docks he often used as a vantage point from which to draw, no longer had any glass in it. …

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In a letter to Sydney Schiff (18 May 1942) Eurich wrote: 'Every square inch was painted complete, step by step, in glazes over a white ground ... full of startling detail and colour, hardly any white being used. I am hoping the result will be like a stained glass window in richness.' Arriving in Portsmouth the morning after the raid, which was a very heavy one, Eurich was laughingly told by an officer that his 'studio', an observation tower in the docks he often used as a vantage point from which to draw, no longer had any glass in it. Eurich used his own experience of the bombing raids on Southampton Docks close to his home to re-create this scene of nightmarish drama.

13th May 1942: Started Portsmouth night bombing picture (30x50) “This is going to be the hell of a job, and no mistake, and will certainly take some weeks”.

20th August 1942: Portsmouth picture won’t pass the censor at present. “Damn it!”

31st March 1944: To London with ‘Bombardment of Salerno’, ‘Fortresses over Southampton’, to Admiralty. ‘Night Raid on Portsmouth’ to the RA. Tried to find frame for ‘Cecilie’.

The artist wrote (8 September 1956): ‘Painted not long after I became full time painter to the Admiralty. The drawings for this were made on the day after the heavy bombing partly due to the presence of two battleships in the harbour. The topography is pretty accurate though telescoped a bit in places. It was done from the signal tower, which explains the elevation. H.M.S. Victory can be seen over the roof tops.’

"Eurich made the drawings for this work ‘the day after the heavy bombing partly due to the presence of two battleships in the harbour’. At the centre of Eurich’s composition is a vessel from an earlier conflict: HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Its presence in the composition recalls a glorious naval history amid the chaos and destruction of the Blitz."

More background notes and quotes on the Tate website referenced below. Also see below three of the sketches Richard did as references for the painting. They form a framed set titled 'Studies for the Blitz on Portsmouth", aka 'Three Studies, Portsmouth'. The set were shown at the Imperial War Museum and The Fine Art Society.

" Dear Eurich, I have just seen for the first time the picture of Portsmouth Harbour and am writing to congratulate you on so fine a painting. It is a treat to see such a picture these days amid the sordid and arid pretentiousness of the school of Paris. May many such as this spring from your hand. Sincerely yours Victor Pasmore"