Preparations for D-Day (1944)
Photo: Imperial War Museum      
© IWM Art.IWM ART LD 4587

Preparations for D-Day

1944

Oil on canvas
76.2 x 127 cm

Imperial War Museum, London


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Recto: Signed and dated lower left: R Eurich 1944

Other measurements: 76 x 127 cms [Bradford, 1979]; 76.2 x 127 cms [IWM and Southampton]; Springboard before D-day [RE sales diary]

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6th June 1944 (D Day): Started work on Invasion Preparations (30x50)

RE diary entry

In a letter to Sydney Schiff (3rd July 1944) referring to the fact that this painting had not been passed for public exhibition by the Censor, Eurich remarked: " The funny part about it is that the whole thing is a creation of my own and has no relation to facts at all - I saw so much of everything that was going on here that I realised it was impossible to render things as seen, so I set to work to recreate the thing in my mind from odds and ends remembered." The Censor's ban was a classic case …

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In a letter to Sydney Schiff (3rd July 1944) referring to the fact that this painting had not been passed for public exhibition by the Censor, Eurich remarked: " The funny part about it is that the whole thing is a creation of my own and has no relation to facts at all - I saw so much of everything that was going on here that I realised it was impossible to render things as seen, so I set to work to recreate the thing in my mind from odds and ends remembered." The Censor's ban was a classic case of Eurich's ability to convince viewers of the absolute reality of what were often largely imaginative reconstructions.
Nicholas Usherwood from ‘The Edge of All the Land’ 1994

Richard also depicted D-Day in a triptych now in The Harris, in Preston, Lancs.

Provenance

COMMISSIONED | 1944

by the Admiralty / War Artists' Advisory Committee

GIFTED | 1947

Imperial War Museum, London

transferred from the War Artists' Advisory Committee; accession number IWM ART LD 4587

EXHIBITED | 1st Jun to 26th Aug 1951

"RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF OIL PAINTINGS by RICHARD EURICH, A.R.A." - City of Bradford Art Gallery, Cartwright Hall, Bradford

Cat 12 - lent by The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum

EXHIBITED | 25th Nov 1979 to 20th Jan 1980

"Richard Eurich, RA - A Retrospective Exhibition" - Cartwright Hall Gallery, Bradford District Museums and Galleries, Bradford    (toured Glasgow, London, Southampton)

Cat 34

EXHIBITED | 26th Sep 1991 to 12th Jan 1992

"Richard Eurich - From Dunkirk to D-Day" - Imperial War Museum, London, UK

Cat 31

EXHIBITED | 28th Jan to 13th Mar 1994

"The Edge of all the Land: Richard Eurich 1903-1992" - Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton    (toured to Manchester, Bradford, Ipswich)

Cat 34, illustrated

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Provenance:

  • COMMISSIONED - 1944 - by the Admiralty / War Artists' Advisory Committee
  • GIFTED - 1947 - Imperial War Museum, London
    transferred from the War Artists' Advisory Committee; accession number IWM ART LD 4587

Exhibitions:

  • 1st Jun to 26th Aug 1951 - "RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF OIL PAINTINGS by RICHARD EURICH, A.R.A.", City of Bradford Art Gallery, Cartwright Hall, Bradford
    Cat 12 - lent by The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum
  • 25th Nov 1979 to 20th Jan 1980 - "Richard Eurich, RA - A Retrospective Exhibition", Cartwright Hall Gallery, Bradford District Museums and Galleries, Bradford    (toured Glasgow, London, Southampton)
    Cat 34
  • 26th Sep 1991 to 12th Jan 1992 - "Richard Eurich - From Dunkirk to D-Day", Imperial War Museum, London, UK
    Cat 31
  • 28th Jan to 13th Mar 1994 - "The Edge of all the Land: Richard Eurich 1903-1992", Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton    (toured to Manchester, Bradford, Ipswich)
    Cat 34, illustrated

Notes:

  • None recorded.

Related  

D-Day, Reconstruction - Beach Landing (1944)

Image © Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library, Preston

 

Mulberry - The Prefabricated Harbour Assembled, Selsey Bill (1944)

Image © IWM Art.IWM ART LD 5189

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