WWI Naval Officers

Last year I posted news of the National Portrait Gallery's appeal to raise £20,000 to restore Naval Officers of World War I (1921) by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope, a massive work measuring 8ft x 16ft 10” (CLICK). The money was raised and both painting and frame have been restored to commemorate the First World War centenary. The painstaking work took five months. The painting is now on display to the public for the first time in over 50 years with its companion paintings: Sir James Guthrie’s Statesmen of World War I and John Singer Sargent’s General Officers of World War I. All three paintings were commissioned by Sir Abraham Bailey and are now reunited in Room 30 (CLICK). Sorry, Biggles fans; the Royal Flying Corps was merely the air arm of the British Army until 1 April 1918, when it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force (CLICK).