Price on request

Oil on canvas, 16Q X 11 ins. (42 X 28 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's wife, Jaqueline Pieterson

Anticoli Corrado, a small village south of Rome, was famed for the beauty of its inhabitants and had, since the nineteenth century, been popular with Italian painters. Following in the footsteps of Colin Gill the first Rome Scholar, Winifred Knights and Job Nixon spent the Summer months of their scholarship in Anticoli. Knights refers to Cundall in a letter written from the village, dated 28th May 1921: 'Job's friend (Cundall, 14c Whitehead's Grove, Chelsea) is arriving here in the middle of June. Job says he would bring out my dresses. . .'

Knights' first impression of Anticoli conjures up a similar image to Cundall's painting: 'Anticoli is a glorious place and a little terrifying, so wild and rugged with huge volcanic mountains all round. I have never imagined a more beautiful place. It hardly seems real. We saw Anticoli just springing up out of the precipice like a bundle of toadstools, all grey houses with green moss covered roofs' (letter to her mother, XIII, Jan 22 1921).

Cundall's remarkable dusk-time view is painted from the area below the village where artists rented their studios - Knights described her studio as 'a joint affair, Nixon, Cundall's (a college man), Miss Southby's and mine is overhung in one place by a gigantic rock which hangs by a hair.' The house of Rosa Ceccarelli, where Knights lodged, with its distinctive loggia, is clearly visible in the centre of the composition.

We are grateful to Alistair Hicks for his assistance.

Price on request

Oil on paper, 14 X 42 ins. (35.6 X 106.7 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's wife, Jaqueline Pieterson

This is a sketch for Coastal Operational Training Unit (RAF Museum Hendon). When the finished painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1943, it was titled: 'O.C.T.U Station. Painted for the Nation's War Records, no. 59.' The setting (not indicated at the time for security reasons) is Limavady, Northern Ireland. The painting shows Wellington bombers, the revolutionary (geodetic) aeroplane designed by Barnes Wallace in 1933; the Wellington MK II, shown here, introduced into service in 1940, was, according to the RAF (Handbook) 'a remarkably fine bomber . used extensively on night bombing raids on enemy targets, including those in Italy, (Eric Sargent, circa 1941).

As an Official War Artist, (Captain) Charles Cundall produced some of the most memorable images of World War II, not least his epic Withdrawal from Dunkirk (Imperial War Museum).

We are grateful to Andrew Cormack (RAF Hendon) and Peter Till for assistance.

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Signed with monogram, oil on canvas,
Oil on two sheets of paper laid on board, 11¾ x 30¼ ins. (32.5 x 76.5 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's wife Jaqueline Pieterson

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Oil on six sheets of paper, laid on board, 20 x 30¾ ins. (51 x 78 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's wife Jaqueline Pieterson

These Tuscan landscapes date to the 1930s, during which time Cundall traveled extensively in Italy. Clearly painted in situ, the use of several sheets of paper leaves an engaging record of Cundall's working method: his compositions evolved - almost unfolded - in front of him.

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Watercolour over pencil, 15 x 22½ ins. (38.2 x 57.2 cms., mount opening)
Provenance: Phoenix Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk, 1988; Private collection since 1988
Exhibited: possibly, Coenties Slip, New York, 1940 (RA 277)

This is a study for Coenties Slip, New York, which Cundall exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1940 (RA 277). The watercolour records part of the historic waterfront of Lower Manhattan at a point of remarkable change, with its celebrated Art Deco skyscrapers still under construction.

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Oil on paper, 15 X 40 ins. (38.1 X 101.6 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's wife, Jaqueline Pieterson

The painting depicts Hurricanes and Albacores at the Joint Fleet Air Arm and RAF base at Hatson on mainland Orkney. The spire of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, is visible in the background. Hurricanes were situated in most ports in the early years of the War to provide Defence Flights. They were also sometimes used by the Navy for Catapult Armed Merchantmen - CAM. The Albacore, introduced in 1939 to replace the Swordfish, served as a Fleet Air Arm Torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance biplane.

We are grateful to Andrew Cormack (RAF Hendon), David C. Reid (Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum) and Peter Till for assistance.

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 Thinned oil on paper, 13 3/8 × 19 5/8 in.
(34 × 50 cm.)
Provenance: Jacqueline Pietersen, the artist’s wife; thence by descent

As an official war artist with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, (Captain)Charles Cundall produced some of the most memorable images of the Second World War, not least his epic Withdrawal from Dunkirk 1940
(Imperial War Museum).

The most famous British bomber of the war, the Lancaster, flew on many
famous sorties: the Dambuster’s Raid, the daylight raid on Augsburg and the
sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz. Forming the backbone of the British
bombing offensive, Lancasters inflicted decisive and crippling damage on
enemy factories and installations. The bottom of the fuselage was painted
black to avoid detection during night-time bombing raids. The Lancaster was operational from March 1942; during the war years 7,377 of these aircraft were built.

We are grateful to Andrew Cormack and Peter Till for assistance.

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 Thinned oil on paper, 13 3/8 × 19 5/8 in.
(34 × 50 cm.)
Provenance: Jacqueline Pietersen, the artist’s wife; thence by descent

This painting by Cundall has a number of curious characteristics: the aircraft
appears to combine the features of a Lockheed Hudson and a Lockheed
Ventura (both of which were used by Coastal Command), whilst omitting the glazed dorsal gun-turrets characteristic of both. The nose looks like that of a Bristol Beaufighter, while other aspects resemble the more obscure Reid and Sigrist Snargasher. Though Cundall sometime approximated features, a natural consequence of sketching rapidly on the spot, he was usually an accurate observer of aircraft and demonstrated considerable knowledge of them. The bright yellow clothing of the ground staff appears to be yellow oil-skins: high-visibility clothing was not introduced until the 1970s. On the basis of the landscape in the background, with a coal-tip pyramid and coal-pit machinery visible, the setting appears to be the North of England.

We are grateful to Michael Barker and Andrew Cormack for assistance.