Backs of Houses, Chester Square, S.W.1.
1941
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1941
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Backs of Houses, Chester Square, S.W.1. is a 1941 watercolor by Ediss, a Social Realism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a quiet street corner with old buildings on either side. The left side has a stone staircase leading up, while the right side shows a brick wall with a small wooden door. In the middle, a narrow alley slopes down between houses, with a tree and a few people in the distance. The ground is paved with uneven stones, and there’s a red barrel and a white bucket near the corner. The artist captured the everyday look of a London neighborhood during wartime. The loose brushstrokes and soft colors make it feel like a quick sketch rather than a polished work. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.
This watercolour by Ediss, titled *Backs of Houses, Chester Square, S.W.1.*, was created in 1941 as part of the Recording Britain project, a wartime initiative led by Sir Kenneth Clark to document the British landscape and built environment. The work depicts the rear facades of residential buildings in Chester Square, a London square, reflecting the project’s focus on preserving a record of places perceived as vulnerable to wartime damage or modern change. Produced under a scheme that employed artists to capture scenes of national identity, the watercolour is one of over 1,500 works created…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Ediss painted London’s quiet streets and squares in delicate watercolours during the early 1940s.
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