Lysanders in the snow

John Nash wrote in 1971 of Ravilious' enthusiasm for his role as a war artist, 'His was the far more varied assignment and he ranged about considerably as his letters show but wherever he was sent he showed an unflagging interest in all he saw. He seemed avid for fresh experiences especially those where excitement or even danger were offered' (see Eric Ravilious, Ashmolean Museum exhibition catalogue, Oxford, 1972).