War paintings exhibition catalogue 1946

HAROLD FREEDMAN Flight Lieut. R.A.A.F. FOREWORD 1. CREATURES OF THE AIR . . . . O i l . . . . December, 1944 Wh a t are the functions of war a r t ? T o illustrate and, if possible, illuminate, Bell Airacobras dumped at Moresby take on an atmosphere of strange bird-like creatures of some aspects of an extraordinary period. By its very nature war art must be, first another age. of all, a record of events and scenes. We want to know what fighting men, their equipment and their environment looked like at certain times and in certain 2. KITTYHAWK INSPECTION .. O i l . . . . January, 1945 circumstances. If, in addition, the artist has something more to offer than mere A general overhaul at No. 1 Repair and Salvage Unit Noemfoor. representation, if he can, at the same time, create a work of art and also, by his own insight, offer some interpretation of the inner meaning and feeling of the scene, so much the better. We cannot expect all this all the time. The job precludes it. But, 3. WINGED HORSE . . . . . . Water Colour December, 1944 as a starting point, we can demand good craftsmanship ; and, once in a while, we can A dismantled "Lightning" aircraft in the Moresby dump resembles some fantastic winged horse. hope for something more. The Royal Australian Air Force, very wisely, appointed three artists to record 4. CONSUMMATUM EST o Oil o January, 1945 its activities a n d gave them a free hand within certain inevitable limits. T h e y were Crashed aircraft stand gauntly in a graveyard at Moresby, their form symbolising the sacrifice Flight-Lieutenant Harold Freedman, Flying-Officer Eric Thake and Flying-Officer of the men who flew them. Max Newton who work, for the most part, respectively, in oil paint, gouache and water-color. They have spent about a year in Australia and the islands to the north, 5. "SWAPPING YARNS" . . . . O i l . . . . February, 1945 painting the men, machines and stations of the R.A.A.F. Each - which is all to the good - has a very distinct and individual approach. Each has done a job with which the Service can be well pleased. The complete difference in approach of the artists 6. TENT LIGHTS . . . . . . . . O i l . . . . February, 1945 is altogether an advantage. Their work, as a whole, gives an admirable composite of R.A.A.F. activity; and, individually, each beholder may take pleasure in it according to his own artistic beliefs. 7. MAINTENANCE . . . . . . . . Water Colour February, 1945 Canberra, in the view of a n umb e r of people, is the natural repository of all Extreme weather conditions in the tropics made it necessary for aircraft under repair to be official paintings. Nevertheless, one must feel personally that when there is a large protected at all times and any scrounged material was put to this use. quantity of work to choose from it would be a pity if all war art were to be lodged there permanently, either on the walls or in the store-rooms of the National Memorial. 8. W/T. OPS. . . . . . . . . . . O i l . . . . February, 1945 A reasonable distribution could, perhaps, be made between the States with the object One of the nerve centres of a headquarters is the W/T room. of showing the pictures to as great a number of people as possible. This might be achieved either by extended loans or by putting such of the pictures as are chosen 9. FALLEN COMRADE . . . . . . O i l . . . . February, 1945 in more or less continuous circulation around the Commonwealth. Each individual has his own views about art - he knows what he likes, which The men who fly and service aircraft form a strong attachment to the 'planes and feel their loss is, at least, a beginning; and, however great the differences in these views, there are as they would a friend. few people who will not feel it an advantage that our artists should be concerned with the life - and death - about them, striving, each in his own fashion, to 10. BEAUFIGHTER PILOT . . . . O i l . . . . March, 1945 interpret the Australia which we all know and for which the men of the R.A.A.F. and No. 30 Squadron. other services have fought and died. Art is never divorced from life ; the greatest artists are those who are able most satisfactorily to sum up for us the eternal truths 11. TELEPHONE EXCHANGE . . . . O i l . . . March, 1945 of the human scene. This exhibition ought to give much satisfaction. One hopes that the example "Spinebashing" at No. 80 Wing Headquarters exchange. of such organisations as the Royal Australian Air Force will not be forgotten in the days of peace, and that other bodies will enable and encourage our artists to give 12. FIGHTER PILOT . . . . . . O i l . . . . March, 1945 their talents to the depiction and interpretation of the complex world in which we live. Kittyhawk pilot No. 80 Squadron, Morotai. 5