John Armstrong, A.R.A.

Margaret Quass, and thence by descent to the present owner

The sheet is fully laid down to a backing card, with one or two very minor scuffs to the unpainted extreme edge of the sheet, not visible in the present frame. There is minor traces of a light surface matter to the darker pigments in the bottom half of the composition, only visible upon close inspection, but this excepting the work appears in very good overall condition with strong, fresh colours throughout. Housed behind glass in a thick painted wooden frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

With the declaration of war in 1939, Armstrong was commissioned by the War Artist’s advisory Committee to work on the Home Front. Most famous of these paintings from the war years are his records of bombed buildings. The present work is the initial study for the proposed poster Can Spring be Far behind?. There is a record of Armstrong bringing in his ‘rough’ for this poster to Sir Kenneth Clark on 5^th November 1940 but there is no record of the discussion or what this ‘rough’ looked like. It is thought that the present work could have been this ‘rough’. There are other versions of the work but unfortunately the composition was never made into a poster, apparently because Chruchill thought the tulip as a symbol of birth and regeneration was too optimistic (see Andrew Lambirth, John Armstrong: The Paintings, Philip Wilson Publishers, London, 2009, p.74). Later Can Spring Be Far Behindwas used as the poster for the Royal Academy retrospective of Armstrong’s work in 1975.

We are grateful to Jonathan Gibbs for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.