Description
An historic watercolour by David Muirhead Bone. This is one of a series of paintings he produced for possible inclusion in the book “Old Spain” which his wife Gertrude Bone provided all the picture descriptions for and he provided all of the illustrations. It has lost a lot of its colour due to acid seepage. However the detail in the picture is stunning it shows wide vistas across to a hillside town which is dominated by castle ruins and a high tower but it is not identified. The painting is framed, glazed and mounted. Frame size 54 x 47 cm. Picture dimensions are 37 x 27 cm.
David Muirhead Bone was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1876. He became the first official Government appointed war artist during the First World War and he repeated this duty in The Second World War for The Admiralty. Between the wars he and his wife had an extended tour through Spain from which the book “Old Spain” was published in 1936. He became a trustee or committee member of many artistic institutions including The Tate, The National Gallery and The Imperial War Museum. He was knighted in The Coronation Honours of 1937.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper article featuring this very painting…
A Life surrounded by war!
This week I’d like to tell you the remarkable story of Sir Muirhead Bone. Bone was born in Glasgow in 1876, although his family were quite poor his artistic tendencies were always encouraged and by the age of 14 he was an architectural apprentice and studied at The Glasgow school of art in the evenings. By 1902 he had moved to London and joined the New English Art Club, his work was highly respected and was exhibited internationally in 1908 and 1910. In 1916 he was due to be conscripted to join our forces in the First World War, his name was mentioned by a friend who worked at Wellington House in the War Propaganda Bureau as someone who could be employed by the government to convey positive images back to Blighty. Clearly someone thought this to be a good idea and Muirhead Bone was commissioned as a second lieutenant and paid the princely sum of £500 annually to produce paintings of scenes at the front in France. He became the first official British war artist, with many of his prints being sold to raise money for the war effort.
His first 150 drawings were of The Battle of The Somme. He became an active member of the British War Memorials Committee both during and after the war.
After the armistice his life revolved around promoting young artists and travelling to paint the changing face of Europe. Bone who had become a trustee and committee member of The Tate Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery AND The Imperial War Museum, was knighted in 1937 for services to the arts.
It was during an extended tour through Spain with his wife, Gertrude, that he painted this fantastic watercolour of a Spanish town. He returned to Britain just prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil war and he and his wife compiled a renowned book called “Old Spain”, published in 1936, which was written by Gertrude and illustrated by Bone’s paintings. This painting is one of the originals that was used in the book.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War Bone was once again commissioned by The Ministry of information as a maritime war artist, he was also a member of The War Artists Advisory Committee.
Bone died in Oxford in 1953. He has a memorial stone in St Pauls cathedral in London. His works can be found in The Tate Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and especially The Imperial War Museum.
