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Redbourn Church

Cheek

1943

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Early Modern

Dominant colour

Redbourn Church is a 1943 watercolor by Cheek, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Cheek
When & what style?: 1943
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows a tall church tower with a pointed arch doorway. The building looks old, with a mix of greenish and brown paint. In front, there’s a small graveyard with a few headstones and some sheep grazing. A person stands near a fence on the right, dressed in dark clothes. The brushstrokes are loose and quick, giving the scene a sketchy, unfinished feel. The colors are simple—mostly greens, browns, and grays—without much detail. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see this watercolor in person.

The story of this work

Overview

Redbourn Church is a watercolour painting by Cheek, signed and dated 1943. It depicts the Church of St. Mary in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, focusing on the Norman tower and surrounding grassy churchyard. The work is part of the *Recording Britain* collection, a wartime initiative launched in 1940 by the Committee for the Employment of Artists in Wartime under the Ministry of Labour and National Service. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust, the scheme employed artists to document Britain’s landscape, architecture, and rural life during the Second World War.

Read the full account in the museum source.