MACCONNAL-MASON
ERNESTPROCTER,ARA
1885-1935
TheLongRangeBombardmentofDunkirk
Signed,datedandinscribed,lowerright:ERNESTPROCTER1918FRANCE Oiloncanvas 20x24in–50.8x61cm
Provenance:
AcquiredinScotlandbythefamilyofthepreviousownerc.1948
Exhibited: London,LeicesterGalleries, ErnestProcterMemorialExhibition,January1936, no.3,withincorrectdateof1917
Literature:
Colour magazine,April1919,Vol.10,no.3,p.51,illustratedincolour, ElizabethKnowles, ErnestProcterARA1886-1935, DodProcterRA1892-1982andErnestProcterARA1886-1935 Exhibitioncatalogue,LaingArtGallery,Newcastle-upon-Tyne,1990,p.32
Longrange bombardmentof Dunkirk isoneofthemostsignificantexamples ofwartimepainting,oneofrelativelyfew, composedandpaintedinFebruaryand Marchof1918ontheoutskirtsofDunkirk fromsketchesmadeonthespot,actually paintedunderthecontinual threatofshelling andbombing.
ItisworthwhilelookingatProcter’s experiencesinFranceinthe18monthsprior tohisembarkingonpaintingsuchamajor work.
ForservicemenontheWesternFrontlife wasacombinationofboredom,moments ofenjoyment,fear andabsoluteterror. There werelongperiodsoftimewithdesultory shelling,orsnipinginthetrenches,periodsofrestinginthebackareaswithsportsdrillingandexercises,visits tothelocaltownsand,infrequently,leave.ForProcterasa‘conscientiousobjector’enlistedinthe Friends’ AmbulanceUnit (FAU)lifewasnottoodissimilar.Asweknowfromhisletterstohiswife,Dod,therewere periodstraining asa motormechanic, offarm workhelping withthe harvestsoon afterhis arrivalin Franceon 12thJune,longboutsof fillingsandbags,buildingdug-outsforthehospital,andpaintinganddecoratingthe staffrecreational huts,named TheCat andFiddle and The Pigand Whistle.Therewere alsoair raids,long-distance shelling,fromlandandsea,andvisitstotheFronton‘ambulanceconvoys.’
TheFAUhadbeensetupbyTheQuakerstoenablemembersofthemovementtoassistinthewareffort withoutcompromisingtheirprinciples.ErnestProcterhaddeclaredhimselfa‘conscientiousobjector’in 1914,attendingatribunalin1915,andfollowingtheintroductionofconscriptionwiththeMilitaryService Act,had joined the FAU on 11th April 1916.His certificate of exemption stated: “occupation Friends Ambulance Unit,exemptedfromtheprovisionsof themilitaryserviceact1916. Exemptionabsolute,groundsonwhichexemptiongranted, conscientiousobjector”.
ProctertrainedattheBritishRedCrosstrainingcentreatJordanscampnearBeaconsfieldinMay1916,a Spartanregime,beforebeingpostedtoFrancethefollowingmonth.TheFAUwasdividedintofourparts:a civiliandivision, hospitals,ambulance trainand ambulanceconvoys.Thelatter wasmade upof 20ambulances, afurther2inreserve,andastaffof56madeupofdrivers,mechanics,orderliesandcooks;thewholeconvoy wasself-sufficient,withstaffallocatedasandwhenrequired.TheheadquartersoftheFAU,closelyaligned withthe BritishRed Crossand St.John’s Ambulance,was acamp ona desertedesplanade atMalo-les-Bains on theoutskirtsofDunkirk. Procterwasenrolledasamechanic,learningcarmaintenance“grovellinginitsinterior, verydirtybutratherinteresting”toabackgroundof“gunsbooming,soundbeastlydepressing”.
Dunkirk,thethirdlargestportinFrance,hadbeensubjectedtoairraidsandlongdistanceshellingfromApril 1915,7500shellsandbombsfellonthetown,over1500soldierswerekilledandanunknownnumberof civilians, and 400 buildings were destroyed.In September, though expecting to go out on an ambulance convoy, Procterisrecordedinhisservicerecordasan‘artist’andworkedassuchdecoratingandproducingworksfor thehuts,onepanelforwhichhelatersubmittedtothemagazine‘Colour,’alongsidesketchesofthehospital andtown.
Procter continued to work and sketch throughout the winter of 1916 and spring of the following year, continually exposed to the casualties of the war in his visits to the town and hospital.His letters to Dod were frequent, they correspondedeveryfewdays,andbothsoughtandgaveadviceontheirrespectivepaintings.Dodwouldalso respondtohisrequestsforartists’materials,contecrayons,inkandpaints. Healsoreceivedcanvases,among
FriendsAmbulanceUnit(1914-1919)Servicerecords: PersonnelCardandDetailsofService
themoneforthepresentpainting,stamped‘Reeves&Sons LT’alongtheinsideoftheselvedgeturnover,andnumbered 1163,correspondingtothestampusedpost-1912.Hewas alsotouchinglyreassuringindescribingabombardment,of whichshehadread,writing“anythingisunlikelytohappenhere”, despitehisproximitytotheshelling;andinaletterof15th May1917hesentaletterdescribinghisloveforher,knowingthathewasofftothefront.
ProcterjoinedaconvoyservingwiththeFrenchArmytowhichtheFAUhadbeenallocated, ServiceSanitaire Anglaise13and14,tocollectcasualties fromthefront,alongtripduring whichhesawwidespreaddestruction, themilesofchurnedmud,vastconglomerationsofequipment,munitions,soldiersandprisoners.Hewas exposedtothetruehorrorsofthefrontline,sawbodieshalf-buriedintrenchparapets,thequagmireofthe roadstheshellholesand“ashellburstandacolumnof earth150fthighwithhalf atreeinit¼of amileaway”.He sawthe charredremains ofan ambulanceand manysquare milesof thecountry reducedto desolation.He was billetedin thecellars ofa housethat hadreceived sixdirect hits,his experienceof thedangers realand tangible, theFAUlostanumberofservicemenkilled.
InJulyhewasatworkontheenlargementoftheQueenAlexandraHospitalinDunkirk,inrealityacollection ofhuts,priortotheoffensiveatPasschendaele,TheThirdBattleofYpres.Intheautumnhewashelping fortifydugoutsand fillsandbagsbefore,inNovember,goinguptothefrontpastpillboxesontheirsides. He wroteofhearingthesoftexplosionofgasshellsoversquelchingroadsmadeoflogstothePostedeSecours (AidStation),to“loadupwithblesses”andwalkingwounded.November27thsawProcterunloadinglogs withChineselabourers,andonthe29thhewrotetoDodofwhetherHaroldKnightshouldtakeonawar commission,“shouldn’tthinkhispictureswillstirpeopleverydeeplyineitherdirection,wouldn’tmindthejobmyself”.
Itisagainstthisbackdropathome,hisexperiencesatthefrontwiththeFrenchArmy,andhispassionfor paintingalongsidetheconstantneedtoraisefunds,thatheembarkedon Behindthelines (fig.1),his firstmajor wartimepainting.
InalettertoDodon18thDecember,enclosingasketch,hedescribedthework:
“of thesoldierswashingthatIamthinkingof,compositionisaboutfixedfora 24x20.Doyouthinkitisamusing?Centralfiguredryinghimself,behind quite a crowd of little figures, darker than the front ones, patches of blue uniforms roundthemainfigureandagreencastovertheruins,afewbitsof orangeanoil stainandredon thetowel.Waterwithreflectionsand alittlebridgething behind themainfigure.”
ProctercontinuedwiththepaintingoverChristmas,“compositionis rathergoodIthink…..butthemenstrousersarevergingontheindescretion” (sic). HereturnedtothefrontearlyinJanuaryandcontinuedwith hispaintinglater inthemonth, onthe20th writing “spentmy dayonthe soldiers,prettywellboundforareasonablydecentconclusion!decentnottheright wordconsideringthepicture”.On19thFebruaryhavingworkedonthe paintingfora numberofSundays hewrites“my washingpaintingis done itsquitegood”.
Thatsameday,19thFebruary,inspiredbythesuccessofthiswork,ProcterwrotetoDod:
“I am already meditating one of all the inhabitants out on the dunes watching a bombardment of the town. I don’t suppose it will evergetdone–itwouldhavetohave100’sof tinyfiguresinitandIshouldwanttodothemallindetaillikea‘Brouwer’,you rememberthepeasantsdancing?It’sinthatbookof yours!”. Itwouldbeveryinterestingthough,thinkingouttheactionsof all thefigures andcombining them‘what sportold Frithmust havehad’ ”- areference toWilliam PowellFrith andthe likes of TheDerbyDay (TateBritain).
Procterwas interestednot onlyin theworks Frithand Brouwerbut alsoin ItalianRenaissance painting.On1st June 1917 he wrote of having a print by Bellini, St. Francis by his cell with a great stretch of country and a town behind, almostcertainlyaprintofthepaintingbyGiovanniBellini, St.FrancisintheWilderness,intheFrickCollection NewYork,andtowhich,incompositionalterms,ourpresentworkbearscomparison.
Theideatookhold,andon25thFebruaryhewrotetoDod “beingSundayIworkedalldayonmynewideawhich formsverywellatpresent,Ithinkratherextrawell. Butlittlefiguresfrom8inchesdownto¼inchwilltakesomedoing,100’s of them”.Inafurtherinsightintohisworkingpracticeshewrites“Iamgettingmoredeliberateinmymethodsof beginningathing…..Ihavemadeaveryelaboratedrawing….Ishalltraceitontocanvasorindianinktheoutline,soIshan’t quitelosethedrawinginthepaint.Itwillbeagoodplanandleadtorathermorefreeworklater”. Asfurtherevidenceof ErnestaskingDodherview,hecontinued“Haveyouevertriedcomposingagreatnumber of small figuresononecanvas? –itisveryinterestingsettinggoodlinesandspacesinthemanddistributingthemingroupswhichplayintoandthrougheach other.I havegot myfigures onseveral differentlevels”. Thepainting isclearly comingon apace,on 2ndMarch, “Sunday tomorrow-anotherdayonmypicwithwhichIamverybuckedstill.’ProcterquitepossiblysendsthepaintingtoDod alongwithotherunstretchedcanvases,referredtoinaletterof6thMarch,astherearenofurtherreferences tothepainting.
DunkirkhadsufferedshellingsinceApril1915,butthesubjectthatProcterchosewasprescientason21st Marchthe Germanoffensive onthe WesternFront commenceddays later,and thetown washeavily shelled.A friendof Procter’s,Molly Evans,a nursewith theFAU workingat theQueen AlexandraHospital, describedthe exodus from the town in her diary entry of 24th March: “unending stream of sorting people, carrying bedsteads, personal belongings,mixedup….”. ErnestattemptedtoreassureDodoverthenavalandlandbombardmentinaletterof thesame date,but despitehis reassurance,owing tothe bombing,the QueenAlexandra hospitalwas evacuated toChateaudePetiteSynthe,amedicalinstituteoutsidethetown.
The offensive continued throughout April, “ some convoys in risky surroundings, sort of fighting going on now the Poste de Secoursareof averytemporarykindliabletoconstantchange”,andDunkirksustainedfurtherheavybombinginMay. Proctercontinuedtosketchatthehospitalandinthetown,andreferredtoahospitalbeingbombed‘miles away’.These were particularly unsettled times, and certainly not conducive to uninterrupted periods of painting.
Fig.1 Behindthelines,1918,20x24ins Colourmagazine,April1919,Vol.10,p.47Itwas inJuly 1918that Procterwrote to Colour magazinesuggesting ajoint articleon himselfand Dod,and this came to fruition in the April issue of the magazine the following year, in which this present work was illustrated, alongwith Behindthelines
The painting, Long Range Bombardment of Dunkirk, was reproduced and described by the author ‘Tis’ as follows:
“
I…considerhis‘LongRangeBombardmentof Dunkirk’areallyremarkablepicture.Tobeginwith,itisextraordinarily attractive at the first glance. The eye taking in the whole picture is at once fascinated by its arrangement of colour patterns: there is somethingJapanese inits compositionand evenin itscolour. Onceattracted theeye beginsto informthe mindand themind browses overeverysquareinch,takingineveryanecdote,everypictorialdetail,wonderinghowitwaspossibletocombinesomuchpureart withsomuchpurestory–andeveryartistmustbedelightedwiththeingeniousmannerinwhichhehascontrivedtomakethe manyfiguredwhole hangtogetheras onething.He comesnearto PeterBreughelin hisincidents,but PeterBreughelcould nothave reached him in composition. This Bombardment I say again is a remarkable picture’.Colour Magazine, April 1919, Vol. 10.
ThereferencetoBreughelisapposite,asProcterhimselfreferstohis FlemishcontemporaryBrouwerasasourceofinspirationinaletterto Dod.Hisuseofcolour,soremarkeduponabove,isalsodiscussedina lettertoDodof20thJanuary1917,inthisinstanceconcerningapainting ofhersbutequallyrelevantto‘Bombardment’:“If yougetabigpatchof anybrightcolour,itoughttocentralisethething.Ithinkthemistakeoneisveryliable tomakeishavingequalquantitiesof equallybrightcolours.Redisthemosteffective possiblecolourinoppositiontogreen”,atheoryperfectlyillustratedin fig.2,in thetwofemale figurestowhomtheeyeisimmediatelydrawn.
ThecompositionalsoreflectsProcter’sinterestinItalianpainting, seenin thecomparisonincompositionaltermswithGiovanniBellini’s StFrancis intheWilderness alludedtoearlier,andtheRenaissancequalitiesofthe Madonnalikewomaninred,acolourusedinhis Virginof theHarbourof 1915 (TheUniversityofLeedsArtGallery).
Procterwas ofcourse adeeply religiousman, hepainted anumber ofaltar pieces,and thecross onthe summit ofthedunesisalikelyreferencetoChrist’scrucifixionatCalvary.The‘100’s’of figuresthathewritesof includinginthecompositionaremadeupofFrenchsoldiers,walkingwounded,intheirblueuniformswith whomhewouldbesofamiliar,attachedashewasintheFAUtothe87thDivision,andfromhisworkatthe FrontatthePostedeSecours.Anumberofgarrisontroopswithmountedofficerslookonattheirwounded comradesandthesmokingtowninthedistance,thetowersoftheTownHallandthatofStEloisilhouetted againsttheskyline.Amongthecivilians,madeupoftheagedandinfirm,womenandchildren,Procterhas createdsometouchingandmovingscenes.Wesee anoldcouplelabouringupthedunes,a grandfatherwaving tohis daughterwith hertwo children,children playingwith adog, andin theforeground aparticularly touching sceneofa youngchildwatching overhersibling. Inthedistance fromthesafety ofthedunes, crowdsturnand gazeatthefurtherdestructionoftheirtown.
Indirect contrastto theartist ChristopherNevinson, animportant painterof machinelike warsubjects, Ernest Proctershowstheveryhumansideofthesetragicevents.
References:
ElisabethKnowles, DodProcter,ErnestProcter, LaingArtGallery,Newcastle,1990 TateArchives,LettersfromErnestProctertoDodProcter,1916-1919
TheFlagstaffissueno.44,Winter2019, LamornaandtheWar DavidTovey, Cornishartistsandauthorsof War(1914-1919)
Colour Magazine,Vol.10
Catalogueof TheMemorialExhibitionof WorksbyErnestProcter,LeicesterGalleries,January1936
BlondFineArt,1986, ErnestProcterdrawingsfromthetrenches
MorganFourman, ErnestProcter’sWW1drawings
Fig.2Detailoftwofemale figures“ErnestProcterwasagentleseriousmanforwhompaintingwasbothneverendingworkand asustainingpleasure”
BorninTynemouth,Northumberland,on22ndMay1886,Ernestwastheson ofEmma,neéLinsay,andHenryRichardsonProcter,astaunchQuakerand eminentscientist.HewaseducatedattheQuakerSchoolBootham,inYork, afterwhichheattendedLeedsSchoolofArt(1905-06),exhibitingatLeedsArt Galleryin 1905.In1907 hebecame astudent atStanhope ForbesSchool ofArt inNewlynandrapidlyestablished himselfasastarpupil.AtForbes,hemethis futurewife,Doris,“Dod”,who hadbeenencouragedtopaint fromanearlyage byhermother.
Procter achieved early success, exhibiting at the New English Art Club in 1909 and in the same year selling 2 paintings, 2 pastels and 59 watercolours, counting Julian Lousada and F Fulford among his early patrons. In 1910, Ernest and Dod continued their studies at the Academie Colarossi in Paris, where they visited museums and artists’ studios, returning to Newlyn in 1912, where they married that year, honeymooning in Paris and Versailles. The following year, 1913, they held a joint exhibition at The Fine Art Society
During their time in Newlyn, Ernest and Dod became close friends with fellow artists Thomas Gotch and his wife, Charles Simpson and Ruth Simpson, Harold and Gertrude Harvey, Annie Walker and Bernard, Vicar of St. Hilary.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, as a Quaker, Procter declared as a conscientious objector, and joined the Friends Ambulance Unit. Following his posting to France in June 1916, he worked in a variety of roles ranging from car mechanic, to helping the wounded on ambulance convoys. While carrying out his duties, he would sketch in and around the hospital, town, and his surroundings, his service record denoting him as ‘artist’, before becoming an official War Artist in November 1918, with a permit issued by the Ministry of Information.
Procter sold his works throughout the war, including a number of drawings to American officers, and 6 watercolours to the War Committee for the Imperial War Museum. Following demobilisation he returned to England on 3rd February 1919 and almost immediately returned to Newlyn. The same year he and Dod travelled to Burma where they had received an important commission to decorate the Kokine Palace for a merchant in Rangoon. Following their return home, Procter established an Art School in 1921 with Harold Harvey, which they continued until the mid-1920’s.
Procter produced a number of notable works on his return to Newlyn, among them On the Beach at Newyln (1919), All the Fun of the Fair (1927), presently in the collection of Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, and The Watchers, which was acquired by the French Government for The Palais Luxembourg (1927). He and Dod also achieved considerable success with exhibitions in London in the early 1930’s, renting a flat in Ellsworthy Road on the proceeds.
In 1934, Procter was appointed Director of Studies in Design and Craft at the Glasgow School of Art, although he retained his base in Newlyn. He died the following year, on 21st October, while on his way to Glasgow and having stopped with friends in North Shields. A Memorial Exhibition was held at The Leicester Galleries in January 1936, and at The Laing Art Gallery Newcastle the same year.
Procter was a frequent exhibitor, and elected an Associate member of The Royal Academy in 1932 and a member of the New English Arts Club. He exhibited widely in Cornwall and was a well-liked and kind member of the Cornish artistic community.
His work is represented in public collections throughout the UK.
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