David Low | "Very Well, Alone" cartoon, 1940, signed by Winston Churchill

David Low

"Very Well. Alone."

cartoon, mixed media, executed in ink, gouache, and charcoal on paper, captioned in ink on lower margin, signed by the artist on lower-right, signed by Winston Churchill at lower margin, framed and glazed, unframed: 345 x 445mm., framed: 501 x 601mm., slight adhesive residue on right-hand margin

"... we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..." (Winston Churchill, 4 June 1940)

DAVID LOW'S ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR THE CARTOON THAT ENCAPSULATED BRITISH DEFIANCE AT THE "DARKEST HOUR", SIGNED BY CHURCHILL.

This cartoon, published on June 18 1940 in the Evening Standard, depicts a British soldier standing alone on a rock amidst a stormy sea, shaking his fist in defiance as Luftwaffe draw near through a darkening sky. The caption reads "Very Well. Alone."

Low's cartoon reflects the predicament of Britain in the late spring of 1940, at which point France had just fallen to the Nazis, the British Expeditionary force had returned from Dunkirk disorganised and short of equipment, and America, having yet to join the war, was unable to resupply Britain owing to the Neutrality Act. Britain faced the prospect of imminent invasion and Churchill's defiant speeches of the period were part of a much wider campaign to rally morale, but Low's cartoon was not a piece of official propaganda but an attempt to capture the resilient spirit of the time. Low recalled in his autobiography that "I tingled when I drew it": his powerful representation of courage and patriotism immediately struck a chord with the British public and his evocation of the "Dunkirk Spirit" remains one of his most famous cartoons.

Low gave this artwork to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Slessor, a crucial figure in Britain's war effort. In 1940 Air Commodore Jack Slessor was Director of Plans at the Air Ministry and a member of the Joint Planning Committee. In 1943 he served as Commander in Chief, Coastal Command. Slessor eventually became Chief of the Air Staff in the early 1950s.

LITERATURE

Evening Standard, June 18 1940

PROVENANCE

Presented by the artist in 1940 to Air Commodore Slessor (1897-1979), and signed at the time by Churchill at Slessor's request; thence by descent