West Wales Decorative & Fine Arts Lecture - War Artists, Spies and the Art of Deceptions

“War Artists, Spies and the Art of Deceptions”

Well-known Official War Artists, Edward Bawden, Rex Whistler and Paul Nash, now have international reputations. Nash, Spencer and Roberts painted in both the First and Second World Wars. There are others who are rarely mentioned, one of whom ran double agents during the War; he is Tomas Harris, a Spaniard, art dealer and artist. Eric Ravilious disappeared in a reconnaissance mission in 1943 and Thomas Hennell was sent out to replace him.

Lecturer: Nicholas Reed

The most famous art historian with intelligence connections is Anthony Blunt. Nicholas Reed's father, Ronnie, was an MI5 Officer and knew both Harris and Blunt, and made interesting remarks about them