Eric Ravilious is drawn to War

Given the interest shown in the work of Eric Ravilious following the ground-breaking exhibition of this art back in 2015, it’s hard to imagine that his work was almost forgotten until his children found a stash under a bed in the 1970s. This well-constructed, sober documentary draws on that interest, consolidating the view he was a major figure in the history of 20th century art. Quintessentially British, he comes across as a stoic, tea drinking chap, and about as untortured an artist as it’s possible to imagine.

Using letters between Ravilious and his long suffering wife, Tirzah Garwood, we learn that Ravilious was born in 1903, and after graduating from the Royal College of Art made a living from murals, woodcut illustrating books, and designs for Wedgwood, before answering his country’s call to document the progress of the war. The letters are unfussily read by Freddie Fox and Tamsin Greig, and are accompanied by animated versions of his of his work, recreations of his wood engraving technique, together with discrete dramatization. Along the way we hear from descendants of friends and family, as well as famous fans Grayson Perry, Alan Bennett and Robert Macfarlane, all of who share their infectious enthusiasm for his deceptively complex watercolours.

The greater part of Margy Kinmonth’s film is devoted to an examination of his work as a war artist, documenting the practical realities of conflict that conflated the profound and the mundane. However, there’s a clear subtext at play here. Director Kinmonth is just as interested in Tirzah Garwood, raising their children in a poorly heated house in Braintree, scraping by as an illustrator, while her serial philanderer of a husband writes excitedly about the thrills of warfare. One can’t help reflect that while Ravilious has rightfully, albeit belatedly, been recognised, his wife’s exquisite artwork, barely glimpsed in the film, remain little more than a footnote to his narrative.

Screening this Wednesday 4th October at 10:30am and 7:30pm