Projectile

Whereas many of Tunnard's 1942 paintings show the influence of his day-to-day experiences as a coastguard, some in 1943 started to reflect wider aspects of war. Projectile may be viewed simply as a fascinating composition, but Tunnard used the title because he wanted the viewer to be very aware of the projectile. The half-motif towards the left is surely a figure sending the projectile to destroy the buildings on the right. Tunnard used similar arches and skeletons of collapsing buildings in later pictures to suggest the destruction due to war, such as Aftermath, 1962 (reproduced in Herbert Read's article for the Saturday Book published by Hutchinson in 1965), where it is no longer a projectile, but an atom bomb. Projectile has similarities with at least three other paintings done in 1943 and 1944. The other from 1943 is Focal Point (Auckland Art Gallery) produced for The John Lewis Partnership exhibition, London, The Four Freedoms, and one of Tunnard's finest works; this is an oil, larger and with a more complex composition. At various times Tunnard produced pairs or small sets of works done in different media, which, although differing considerably in their general appearance, were nevertheless clearly inspired by a similar idea. In some cases the work in watercolour or gouache was done before the oil, but this was not always the case and it is unclear whether Projectile or Focal Point came first. Another Focal Point, this time in watercolour and The Trial (British Council), both done in 1944, use a composition reminiscent of Projectile to reflect the menaces of war.

B.W.