St. Paul's Cathedral, London, after the surrounding building has been flattened by enemy bombing

Accession Number ART26916
Collection type Art
Measurement Framed: 69.6 cm x 59.6 cm; Unframed: 51 cm x 41 cm
Object type Painting
Physical description oil on canvas on plywood
Maker Meeson, Dora
Place made United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London
Date made 1941
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright

Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright

Description

This scene depicts the aftermath of bombing in London during the Blitz of 1941. St Paul's Cathedral stands erect and resilient in the background, but the foreground is a mess of rubble and destruction, with piles of bricks and debris everywhere. 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.