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This is a giclee limited edition reproduction of a 1940 watercolour by Eric Ravilious. The original painting painting took pride of place amongst Ravilious’ works when exhibited after the war at the first War Artists’ Exhibition. It is unusual for Ravilious to depict people in his painting but two of the men in this one, Commander Obbard and Lieutenant West, were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross DSC for their courage.nbspThe piece combines a depiction of the dangerous war work being done with the sheer beauty of place it is set in. Naval officers had been sent to the oyster beds at Whitestable, Kent, to diffuse a German magnetic mine – one of only two washed up on the English coast. But Ravilious pay just as much attention to the sun, low upon the horizon, the glass flat tidal pools and a sky of serene beauty, a beauty that belies the danger that these officers were in fact facing.
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