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Fighting back: the port, the Thames and the liberation of Europe, The need for landing craft |
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| © National Maritime Museum, London |
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| Repro ID: BHC1560 |
| Description: Many smaller London shipyards were pressed into the construction of landing craft for the coming invasion of Europe during the Second World War. Some idea of the work involved can be seen in this highly personal painting by the official war artist Leslie Cole. It demonstrates the skills needed to build the craft and the number of men required. The landing craft shown here is being built in sections and this notion of segmentation is echoed throughout the painting. Cole exaggerates the sense of scale of the project. He trained as a mural decorator and fabric painter, and there is a strong sense of design and monumentality in his rhythmic response to the forms of the roof structure, the row of workers in the centre foreground and the planes of the metal components. |
| Creator: Leslie Cole |
| Date: 1941 |
| Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London | |
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