Art Under Fire at the National Army Museum

An explosive painting by acclaimed war artist, Jules George, will go on public display at the National Army Museum this week. George’s art vividly depicts scenes from modern-day conflicts in Afghanistan. It was secured by the National Army Museum for the public at Bonhams earlier this year.

‘Between 9 and 12:15, 20th February 2010 (C Squadron Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Fire Support Group)’. Oil painting by Jules George

All visitors will be free to explore George’s large-scale oil painting, entitled ‘Between 9 and 12:15, 20th February 2010 (C Squadron Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Fire Support Group)’, on display on the Ground Floor at the National Army Museum, Chelsea.

In February 2010, while under fire and with the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under foot, Jules George witnessed first-hand the experiences of British troops in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence officially sanctioned him to draw events in Afghanistan as he saw them, with no brief or censorship.

Armed with sketchpads and paintbrushes, Jules recorded events in quick sketches due to the perilous and fleeting nature of the combat. Later, once in a safer environment, he would revisit his sketches as inspiration for larger paintings. The vivid power of Jules’s original drawings conveys the energy and atmosphere of the conflict.

‘Between 9 and 12:15, 20th February 2010’ recalls an incident near Musa Qaleh where RQMC Shaun Fry MC and his men from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment spent three tense hours providing covering fire to a line of infantry in the valley below. Jules sketched the battle from their hillside position where he had to take cover from incoming fire. The painting is a combination of four drawings made during the chaos and heat of battle. In the final work Jules used rare lapis lazuli from Afghanistan as the pigment in painting the distant mountains.

Jenny Spencer-Smith, Head of Fine and Decorative Art at the National Army Museum, comments: 'New acquisitions from modern-day conflicts, such as this painting by Jules George, enable the National Army Museum to give voice to the experiences of serving British Army personnel and retain these accounts for the public to explore and learn from.'

Jules George’s collection of Afghanistan paintings and drawings, named ‘Into the Valley’, was exhibited and sold at Bonhams, London in July 2011, with a percentage of sales donated to the charity, Combat Stress. The National Army Museum’s painting is reproduced as the Museum’s official 2011 Christmas card.

Watch a interview with Jules George talking about his painting and the events which inspired it.

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For more information, interviews or images please contact:

• National Army Museum press office
  pr@nam.ac.uk
  020 7881 2433

For more information about Combat Stress please visit:

• www.combatstress.org.uk

Notes to editors

The National Army Museum explores the impact of the British Army on the story of Britain, Europe and the world; how Britain’s past has helped to shape our present and our future and how the actions of a few can affect the futures of many.

The National Army Museum was established by Royal Charter to tell the story of the Land Forces of the Crown wherever they were raised. Opened by the Queen in 1960, it moved to its current site in Chelsea in 1971.