Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Unknown
St Paul's Survives, Night Blitz in London - 1940

1940

$881.15
£640
€753.82
CA$1,207.13
A$1,339.41
CHF 701.61
MX$16,424.81
NOK 8,924.29
SEK 8,424.15
DKK 5,621.74
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Anonymous Flames around St Paul's, Night Blitz in London - 1940 Lithograph 42 x 54 cm This striking lithograph depicts St Paul's Cathedral in London peaking through the swathes of smoke engulfing the city after a night of bombing during the blitz. The sky is illuminated by floodlights and flames, but the cathedral itself seems to provide its own light source, standing out against the destruction surrounding it. Although the source of this lithograph is unknown, it was likely produced after Herbert Mason's photograph 'St Paul's Survives', taken during the night air raid of the 29th-30th of December 1940, the night of the 'Second Great Fire of London.' The photograph has become a symbol of British resilience and courage, and is considered one of the iconic images of the Blitz. It became "instantly famous", and turned the Cathedral into "a symbol of togetherness, survival and suffering". During the Second World War, Winston Churchill declared that St Paul's must be protected at all costs to preserve morale. As a result, a team of 300 volunteers came together under the name of 'the St Paul's Watch' and, armed with sandbags and hoses, worked to extinguish the incendiaries raining down on the cathedral.
  • Creation Year:
    1940
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Width: 21.26 in (54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Generally very good, reinforced punched holes to all four corners.
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU795315560532

More From This Seller

View All
Blitz Site with St Paul's Cathedral, drawing by Hubert Finney
Located in London, GB
Hubert Finney (1905 – 1991) Blitz Site with St Paul's Cathedral Charcoal, coloured pencil and pastel 35 x 52 cm A reclusive figure whose work has remained largely unseen, Finney stu...
Category

1940s Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Pastel, Color Pencil

Temple Church London after Bombing: Clifford Charman painting Modern British Art
Located in London, GB
To see our other Modern British Art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the artist you want. Clifford...
Category

1940s Realist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Blitz: A Civil Defence Firefighter before St Paul's Cathedral, London 1940
Located in London, GB
To see our other World War Two art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller." The Blitz: A Civil Defence Firefighter In Action before St Paul's Cathedral with Search Lights...
Category

1940s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal

St Paul's Cathedral architectural watercolour by S Clapham
Located in London, GB
To see more, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller." S Clapham (active 1940 - 1960) St Paul's Cathedral (c...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Temple Church and Library after Bombardment lithograph by Walter Spradbery
Located in London, GB
To see our other World War Two art, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller." Walter Ernest Spradbery (1889 - 1969) Temple Church and Library after Bombardment (1944) Lithograph 66 x 57 cm Walter Spradbery's poster for the London Underground depicting a bombed Temple Church; a rainbow strikes hopefully out of the church's remains, and the sun shines on the golden stone of the building. The full poster bears the legend 'The Proud City...
Category

1940s Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Violet Hilda Drummond: St Paul's Cathedral watercolour
By Violet Hilda Drummond
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of London and Modern British Art, scroll down to and click 'view more from this seller' and use the search function. Violet Hilda Drummond (British, 1911-2000) St Paul...
Category

20th Century Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

You May Also Like

Super rare World War Two scene of St Pauls's Cathedral, London during the Blitz
Located in Woodbury, CT
Super rare World War Two period scene of St Pauls's Cathedral, London during the Blitz. Very few scenes of the Blitz were painted and this piece dated August 1945 was painted a few ...
Category

1940s Realist Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

St Paul's Cathedral, Thames, London, etching by Frederick Farrell, circa 1920
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
Signed in pencil below the image by the artist. Blind stamps of etching societies lower left just under the image. Frederick Farrell was a Scottish etcher specializing in architectu...
Category

1920s Other Art Style Landscape Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

St Nicholas Cole Abbey and St Mary Somerset Church, London, The Blitz
Located in London, GB
This drawing records the destruction that was endured by London during the Blitz. The building in the foreground is St Nicholas Cole Abbey, situated in the city of London. Whilst a church was recorded on this site from the twelfth century, this church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London so the remnants of the church that we see here is one that was built by Sir Christopher Wren...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite

St. Paul's Cathedral in the Moonlight
By Bill Brandt
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed by the artist and numbered on the front of the print. 11/25. Printed in 1982.
Category

20th Century Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

North View of St. Paul's Cathedral, London / English School
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Tallis & Co., 1851. Lithograph on cream wove paper, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches (297 x 398 mm), with vaulted margins at the top sheet edge. Significant toning, and some edge wear...
Category

Mid-19th Century English School Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Handmade Paper

North View of St. Paul's Cathedral, London English School, 19th century
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Tallis & Co., 1851 Lithograph on cream wove paper, 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches (297 x 398 mm), with vaulted margins at the top sheet edge. Significant toning, and some edge wear. ...
Category

Mid-19th Century English School Interior Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Lithograph