John Piper

Sale, Sotheby's London, 23rd June 1999, lot 56, where acquired by the present owner

London, Imperial War Museum, John Piper: The Forties, 19th October 2000 - 28th January 2001, cat. nos.32-36, illustrated pp.73-74.

St Mary-le-Port, Bristol The sheet is sound. It does not appear to be laid down and undulates slightly. The work appears in good overall condition. Redlands Park Congregational Church, Bristol The sheet is sound. It does not appear to be laid down and undulates slightly. There appears to be a small spot of paint loss in the black pigment in the upper left quadrant and a fleck of paint loss and some slight craquelure to further black pigment along the lower left edge. There is some fine craquelure to the dashes of maroon pigment in the lower left quadrant. Otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. St John's Waterloo Road, London The sheet is sound. It does not appear to be laid down and undulates slightly. There are one or two faint spots of foxing in central lighter area; otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. The Temple Church, Bristol The sheet is sound. It does not appear to be laid down and undulates slightly, otherwise the work appears in excellent overall condition. Coventry Cathedral The sheet is sound. It does not appear to be laid down and undulates slightly. There is significant intentional scratching to the surface of the sheet in the lower right quadrant. There are some faint signs of craquelure to the white oil highlights, otherwise the work appears in good overall condition. All held in matching dark stained wooden frames with a cream mount under glass; unexamined out of frame. Please telephone the department on 0207 293 6424 if you have any questions about 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."

Piper was approached by Kenneth Clark in late 1940 with a view to producing work for the WAAC, initially with the intention of painting the City churches that had been damaged by the early days of the Blitz. However, on the morning of the 15^th November 1940, Piper received a message from Clark that much of the city of Coventry, including the fine medieval cathedral, had been heavily damaged during an air raid the previous night.

Piper hurriedly travelled to Coventry, and his images of the shattered building, set in train a series of works that, like Moore's shelter drawings, would be closely identified with Piper in the mind of the public. The first of many raids against cities across the country, the bombing of Coventry was seen as a test of the resilience of the British in the face of the threat of Hitler, and Piper's painting of the ruins of the cathedral was to become one of the most famous images of the period.

Sadly, Coventry was only a beginning, and Piper was to travel across Britain recording the damage wrought to its architectural heritage. The close identification in the public mind of the physical fabric of the towns and cities of Britain with the sense of nation may well have been aided by Piper's work, and it is clear from his own notes and writings at the time how much these sight affected him:

I went to Bath to paint bomb damage. I never was sent to do anything so sad before. I was miserable there indeed to see that haunt of ancient water-drinkers besmirched with dust and blast. 3 houses burnt out in Royal Cresc, bomb in middle of Circus, and 2 burnt out there; Lansdowne chapel direct hit, 10 bombs in front of Lansdowne Cresc. Somerset Place almost completely burnt out: ...326 killed, 1800 house uninhabitable...My God I did hate that week. (The Artist, correspondence with John Betjeman, 15^th May 1942)

This group of five works depicting damage to churches in Coventry, London and Bristol, give us a direct view of Piper's approach to his subjects, and his ability to evoke both the destruction and the survival that rose from these ruins.