SHEPARD, 'ACCIDENT TO THE AXIS', INK AND BODYCOLOUR, 1941

305 by 241mm., pen and ink with bodycolour, signed and inscribed with title, mounted, framed and glazed

EXHIBITED:
‘The Illustrators: The British Art of Illustration 1870-2009’, Chris Beetles Gallery, 2009, no 154; 'Images of Power: From the Jeffrey Archer Cartoon Collection', Monnow Valley Arts, 3 September - 30 October 2011

Punch, 5 March 1941, page 231

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"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."

The fall of Beda Fomm, Libya, on 7 February 1941 marked the end of Operation Compass, the first major Allied offensive of the North African campaign. In the ten weeks of the campaign, Allied forces had decisively defeated the Italian 10th Army, advancing 800km, destroying or capturing some 400 tanks and 1290 artillery pieces and capturing approximately 130,000 Italian and Libyan POWs. This was a crippling blow to Italian control in North Africa, at a time when the combined Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan were attempting to consolidate their position in Europe, Africa and the Far East. In Europe, the Nazis were massing troops on the Soviet border in preparation for an invasion of the Soviet Union, which occurred in June 1941 as Operation Barbarossa. In the Far East, Japan had successfully invaded French Indochina, and was planning to take advantage of the war in Europe by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia.