War paintings exhibition catalogue 1946

With the formation of the War History Section of the Royal Australian Air Force, the first step towards the compilation of a comprehensive review of the activities of the R.A.A.F. in the various theatres of war was made. Originally based on the presentation of written narratives, the scope of this section was subsequently extended to provide visual appreciations on celluloid and canvas of the lives and activities of the men who flew, and those men and women who kept them flying. FIGHTER PILOT Harold Freedman The inestimable value of scenes and events painted on the spot or from sketches and field notes is obvious, as they have an atmosphere more valuable than the most accurate word picture. One of the guiding principles of War History Section has been that the presentation of history should be interesting, and its work has been planned to avoid as far as possible the drab school copybook standard. This work has been done by airmen, of airmen under combat conditions. The artists lived with the men, shared their hardships. Posterity and the historian of the future nill owe them a debt of magnitude, not so much for their factual representation of scenes and events, but for the record Of personal reaction to the atmosphere of those times through ihich we have passed. The tours of these men have covered Australia, A/cu Guinea, the Netherlands East Indies (ind Borneo. With the peace, they now give to the people of Australia a colour picture of the everyday living and fighting conditions of the Royal Australian Air Force- (it war and at play. 00~7 C11Air Vice-Marshal 71""Ki r I( CHIEF OF AIR STAFF - ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE 3