Artist: Edward Wadsworth
Date: 1940
Medium: Tempera on canvas applied to wood panel
Dimensions: 63.5 x 88 cm
Credit: Towner Collection, acquired with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund. Image Towner Eastbourne
Edward Wadsworth spent the First World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the island of Mudros designing dazzle camouflage for allied ships. Post-war he continued to focus on nautical themes, such as these large boat propellors. His precise control of this composition creates a hypnotic, dreamlike reality. The ship’s screws on the quay are dramatic forms, and he lets them hold the stage by themselves, unexplained by human presence. The screws are heavy but the twisting blades provide a ballet-like feel. William Gear (Towner curator from 1958-64) noted that the Towner Collection was missing representation by key artists who lived in Sussex and in 1962 acquired this significant work by Edward Wadsworth.