Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
ORIGINAL MAGAZINE AND C-TYPE PRINT
69 x 46.5 cm
Unframed
My mother Flora, born in East London, was an evacuee during the London Blitz of 1940. By the time of the V1 and V2 rocket attacks of 1944, she was a nursery nurse at St Mary’s Hospital. So when I first saw Cecil Beaton’s portrait of Eileen Dunne, sat in bed at Great Ormond Street Hospital injured by bombing in 1940, I was looking at an image of my mother’s own history. The fear in the eyes, the evacuee taken from her family, the young nurse treating children like Eileen. This is what my mother had seen.
Cecil Beaton’s image is iconic. In September 1940 it was the cover of Life magazine and is seen as hugely significant in changing US public opinion in their support for an isolated UK in those early years of the Second World War.
At a hospital in Beirut a few weeks ago, as I walked into Ivana’s ward, my heart stopped. There in front of me, a young girl sat upright in bed, head bandaged, looking at me with those same eyes. 84 years later an echo of past war. Ivana Skeiki had been injured while in the street with her sister when an Israeli bomb hit a garage opposite their house. Like Eileen, Ivana is three years old.
What’s changed? In 1940 the world was outraged by images such as that of Eileen. Coming just three years after the aerial destruction of Guernica in Spain, the notion of deliberately targeting urban areas to create terror and maximise civilian casualties was seen as abhorrent. Yet now, many argue it as a legitimate form of warfare while others turn their heads muttering; ‘it’s the sad reality of war.’ It is not. It is a choice.
Please note that the price does not include shipping; we will follow up to arrange fulfilment from the UK based on your location and preferred shipping option. VAT may be added at checkout depending on your location. Let us know if you would like to be connected to our recommended framer.
ORIGINAL MAGAZINE AND C-TYPE PRINT
69 x 46.5 cm
Unframed
My mother Flora, born in East London, was an evacuee during the London Blitz of 1940. By the time of the V1 and V2 rocket attacks of 1944, she was a nursery nurse at St Mary’s Hospital. So when I first saw Cecil Beaton’s portrait of Eileen Dunne, sat in bed at Great Ormond Street Hospital injured by bombing in 1940, I was looking at an image of my mother’s own history. The fear in the eyes, the evacuee taken from her family, the young nurse treating children like Eileen. This is what my mother had seen.
Cecil Beaton’s image is iconic. In September 1940 it was the cover of Life magazine and is seen as hugely significant in changing US public opinion in their support for an isolated UK in those early years of the Second World War.
At a hospital in Beirut a few weeks ago, as I walked into Ivana’s ward, my heart stopped. There in front of me, a young girl sat upright in bed, head bandaged, looking at me with those same eyes. 84 years later an echo of past war. Ivana Skeiki had been injured while in the street with her sister when an Israeli bomb hit a garage opposite their house. Like Eileen, Ivana is three years old.
What’s changed? In 1940 the world was outraged by images such as that of Eileen. Coming just three years after the aerial destruction of Guernica in Spain, the notion of deliberately targeting urban areas to create terror and maximise civilian casualties was seen as abhorrent. Yet now, many argue it as a legitimate form of warfare while others turn their heads muttering; ‘it’s the sad reality of war.’ It is not. It is a choice.
Please note that the price does not include shipping; we will follow up to arrange fulfilment from the UK based on your location and preferred shipping option. VAT may be added at checkout depending on your location. Let us know if you would like to be connected to our recommended framer.