Shared Experience: The City - A fallen lift shaft

Graham Sutherland OM

Graham Sutherland OM

The City: A fallen lift shaft
gouache on paper
64.7 x 111.7cm
IWM ART LD 893

These bomb-damaged buildings were in an area just north of St Paul’s Cathedral. Described by Sutherland as an eerie, foul-smelling, deserted wasteland, it was one which he explored with growing confidence during the Blitz, although occasionally buildings would spontaneously collapse around him. Amid this barren scene, Sutherland has animated the twisted structure, creating a presence that both threatens new life and yet also implies its possibility.

 

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