NAM.1994-01-113-1

Rex Whistler’s self-portrait in Welsh Guards uniform, May 1940 Oil on canvas by Rex Whistler (1905-1944), 1940 Looking relaxed and debonair, Rex Whistler depicted himself enjoying a drink on the balcony of the van Hofmannstal’s flat in York Terrace which the artist was using as a temporary studio space, overlooking Regent's Park, London. Painted over an unfinished portrait of Cecil Beaton in Moroccan dress. He was clearly moved by his transformation into a soldier and painted this portrait on the very day his uniform arrived. Yet his expression is also guarded, creating a sense of ambiguity about his feelings - does he face us as a man about to interrupt his creative life by joining the army, or is there also a strong sense of foreboding? Aged 35 and too old for immediate conscription, Rex Whistler had volunteered for service upon the outbreak of war: he saw it as a duty that men of his age should fight, rather than ‘young boys’. Whistler had already established a considerable reputation as an artist, but he was not among those selected by Kenneth Clark for the official war art scheme. Instead Whistler persuaded the Colonel of the Welsh Guards to grant him a commission on ‘the grounds of being a decent fellow and rather a good cartoonist!’. Following the formation of the Guards Armoured Division in 1941, embracing all regiments of the Brigade of Guards, Second Lieutenant Rex Whistler, 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards, became a troop commander, in charge of three tanks. During four years of intensive military training at Caterham, Wiltshire, Norfolk and on the Yorkshire moors, he continued to produce commercial work, and often drew for his friends and colleagues. In late June 1944, his regiment crossed the Channel with the division, equipped with Cromwell tanks. Whistler was killed on his first day in action, 18 July 1944, during Operation GOODWOOD near Caen in Normandy.

GOODWOOD, Operation, 1944 (World War Two, North West Europe 1944-1945)