Catalogue Details

Cyril A Farey (1888-1954)
View of The Record Office, London, 1942
Pencil gouache & watercolours
Signed & dated:  Cyril A Farey / 25.vi.42
Inscribed:  Record Office
18 x 12 1/2 inches
Provenance:  family of the architect
Presented in original mount and frame

This watercolour was drawn in June 1942 in the aftermath of the
London Blitz.  We see bomb damage in the foreground building and the
water collected in the temporary reservoir ready for further fire rescues.

Farey is much admired  for his mastery of the watercolour medium and his smooth portrayal of water and reflected surfaces such as wet roads is well known. 

This watercolour is one of a series of pictures of London painted by Farey between 1940 and 1944 during the second world war for the Royal Academy Planning Committee to substantiate and illustrate their proposals for the replanning of London after the Blitz. 

Full biographical details on Farey are available in our Cyril Farey ‘Fareyland’ catalogue.