Eric Ravilious: imagined realities

The English artist Eric Ravilious (1903-42) was a painter of watercolours and murals, a book illustrator in wood engraving and lithography, and a designer of transfer-ware, pottery and porcelain.

From 1939 till his death he was an Official War Artist. This book presents a full retrospective of all aspects of his work, culminating in the final phase of his war artist work.

Ravilious is well known to a circle of collectors and admirers who feel no need to explain his work. Partly as a result of this, he has tended to remain isolated from the broader art historical narratives of the period. This book is the first sustained attempt to understand his appeal and importance using a wider artistic and historical context.

In addition to being a straight retrospective the book interprets Ravilious's work on the basis of documentary sources and more recent readings of art and ideas.

The book positions Ravilious in a European and American context of the period, identifying artists and designers whose work shows similar characteristics and require a historical grouping separate from modernism.

The combination of 'fine' and 'applied' art in Ravilious's oeuvre is explored as an exemplar of the Art and Industry movement of the inter-war period which ran parallel to modernism.

The book also deals with the questions of English identity that arise from Ravilious's work and his important role in developing new perceptions of Englishness in the period.

The book accompanies an exhibition opening at the Imperial War Museum, London, in October 2003.

Alan Powers, the curator of this exhibition, writes on the art, architecture and design of twentieth-century Britain. He is a regular columnist of Building Design and Architectural Journal, is architectural correspondent for The Spectator and has published a number of books on architecture and design. He is also a watercolour painter and a printmaker.