Artwork
Tattooist's Parlour, Colchester
Tattooist's Parlour, Colchester is a watercolor work on paper by Bayes. It dates from 1940 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Tattooist's Parlour, Colchester is a watercolour painting depicting a tattoo parlour scene.
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a humble tattoo parlour and its customers, all of whom are soldiers preparing for war, adding a layer of poignancy to the scene.
Context
As part of the Recording Britain project, this work is one of the few to directly reference the ongoing war, highlighting the significance of the tattoo parlour as a site of ritual and preparation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Walter John Bayes was an English painter and illustrator who was a founder member of both the Camden Town Group and the London Group and also a renowned art teacher and critic.
