| Ref No | 2012.103/C/1/1 |
| Level | File |
| Extent | 2 items |
| Title | Photographs of decorative panels created for the British Restaurant, Leamington Spa |
| Date | 1942 |
| Description | Black and white photographs of six decorative panels commissioned to decorate the British Restaurant, Leamington Spa by various artists, including Annan. The file comprises one loose photograph of Annan's panel 'Leamington Life' and photographs of each panel mounted on to a large piece of card labelled 'Decorations painted for the British Restaurant, Leamington Spa'. The mounted photographs are as follows (clockwise from top left): 'Leamington Life' by Annan; 'Street Scene' by Colin Sealy; 'Scene on a Training Airfield' by Edwin la Dell; 'By the River Leam' by A.C. Shipman; 'Home Guard Manoeuvres and The Use of Camouflage' by E.L. Hall; and 'Carrying on with Domestic Duties' by T.R. Rathmell. The unmounted photograph of 'Leamington Life' is annotated on the reverse in an unknown hand with detailed information about the panel, including its subject matter and style. An additional pencil annotation by [Annan?] notes 'D. Annan c/o Julian Trevelyan, Durham Wharf, Hammersmith Terrace'. |
| Notes | Long working hours, food rationing and interruptions in gas and electricity supplies had seen cooking in the home dwindle during the Second World War. British Restaurants were set up to counter this problem. They were large government-operated canteens designed to provide cheap but nourishing meals to the British public during the war. Often housed in drab Drill Halls or schools, there was a deliberate policy to boost moral by decorating British Restaurants with art and painted murals. The British Restaurant at Leamington Spa had six panels by separate artists, all of whom were members of the regional branch of the Artists' International Association. The subjects of the panels at Leamington Spa were meant to be a celebration of civilian life during wartime. |
| Related Material | See 2012.103/D/1 for a file of papers related to mural commissions undertaken in the Leamington Spa and Coventry area between 1942-1944, including additional photographs of the British Restaurant panels; 2012.103/G/1/1 for Annan's correspondence with galleries, including letters related to 'Leamington Life'; and 2012.103/H/2/1 for the catalogue of 'The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of the Arts 1945' which featured the painting. |