Sydney Carline and the exhibition "War in the Sunshine, The British in Italy 1917-18".
I was intrigued by some recent newspaper and magazine reviews of the opening of an exhibition in the Estorick Collection gallery in London of the "War in the Sunshine, The British in Italy 1917-18"
As quoted by Waldemar Januszczak in The Sunday Times: "For most of us, the story of the First World War is defined by the "mud, gas and trenches" of the Western Front. Indeed, so persistent is such imagery that it may "come as a surprise" to learn that between 1917 and 1918, more than 200,000 British troops were sent to fight alongside their Italian allies against Austria in the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy. Now, following a five-month refurbishment, London's Estorick Collection has put together a new exhibition that shines a light on Britain's involvement in the conflict. This idiosyncratic museum has been exhibiting modern Italian art in an Islington townhouse since 1998, and boasts a collection that includes works by the likes of Modigliani, de Chirico and Morandi. This show, however, is a something of a departure, presenting the work of three Britons who witnessed the Italian Front first-hand: the war photographers William Joseph Brunell and Ernest Brooks, and the artist and pilot Sydney Carline, whose "vertiginous" paintings offer a "thrilling" bird's-eye view of the combat. Altogether, it makes for an "eye-opening" exhibition".
Eye opening for me too as there are some really evocative paintings by Sydney Carline depicting aerial combat in WWI.
A couple of examples below courtesy of The Imperial War Museum.
British Scouts leaving their Aerodrome on Patrol, over the Asiago Plateau, Italy, 1918
The Sea of Galilee: Aeroplanes Attacking Turkish Boats, 1919
Among the Anti-Aircraft Bursts at 20,000 Feet above the Alps: A British Air Squadron Crossing the Anglo-Austrian Line along the River Piave, Italy
Sydney Carline has a WiKi entry here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Carline
and IWM here:
Stunning Aerial Artwork Of The First World War | Imperial War Museums
It's in my diary to visit the gallery when I'm next in London.
WT