St George in the East, Stepney

This 18th century Anglican Church was hit by a bomb during the Second World War Blitz on London's docklands in May 1941. Meeson's watercolour illustrates how the apse remained intact, as did much of the exterior structure, but the interior of the building was reduced to a pile of rubble and metal scraps. A clear blue sky and soft white clouds can be glimpsed above the church, which belie the destruction at ground level.
Despite being recommended by Arthur Streeton as an official war artist for the First World War, Meeson was never commissioned. However, she completed numerous works of art detailing the damage wrought upon London during both world wars.
Dora Meeson (1869-1955) studied at the NGV School in Melbourne and in Paris and London. She married the painter George Coates in England in 1903 and they lived in England and Paris until 1921 before travelling to Australia. She returned to London and held regular exhibitions there and obtained painting commissions. Meeson was the first Australian woman member elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in 1919.