1940
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Entrance screen, Tyringham is a 1940 watercolor by John Egerton Christmas Piper, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows an old stone gate set between two crumbling walls. The walls have arched openings, but the middle arch is filled with a blurry, dark shape—like a shadow or a hidden space. Leafless trees stand on either side, their branches bare against a pale, cloudy sky. The artist used quick, sketchy brushstrokes, especially in the sky and trees, making it feel rough and unfinished. The gate itself looks weathered, with patches of light and dark showing its worn surface. If you like this style, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more works like it.
This watercolour by John Piper, signed and dated 1940, depicts an arched stone entrance at Tyringham in Buckinghamshire. It was created as part of the Recording Britain project, a wartime initiative that employed artists to document the British landscape and built environment between 1940 and 1943. The scheme, funded by the Pilgrim Trust and directed by Sir Kenneth Clark, aimed to preserve a record of places and traditions perceived to be at risk from bombing, invasion, or modern development. Piper’s work is one of over 1,500 pieces produced by 97 artists under the project.
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Egerton Christmas Piper CH was an English painter, printmaker and designer of stained-glass windows and both opera and theatre sets.
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