![]() ![]() Her works used ink, pencil and conté crayon to capture scenes from the flight deck to the frontline, often sketched in harsh conditions and sometimes under threat of danger. Skilled in working at speed, and experienced in reportage illustration, Kitson was able to produce around six drawings a day, and hundreds by the end of her posting. Originally planning to venture only to Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic, which served as a staging point for the British Armed Forces, the artist instead chose to join personnel as they sought to retake the Falklands, eager to record the frontline action. The 8,000 mile journey took more than two weeks and she was one of only a few women travelling amongst 3,000 men. On May 12 1982, Kitson set sail on the civilian cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2, which had been requisitioned from Cunard by the Royal Navy for use as a troop carrier. Not only were my fingers frozen, but I only had anything from two to twenty minutes for each picture we were continually on the move.” ![]() ![]() “These drawings are exactly as they came from ‘the field’, which is a very different thing from a highly polished piece finalised in a studio. “I look back at these drawings from so long ago and can still feel the sub-zero temperatures,” said Linda Kitson. The National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, has opened a new free exhibition featuring frontline sketches of the Falklands War by Linda Kitson who was appointed as the official war artist by the Imperial War Museum.Īs the first official female war artist, Kitson served alongside frontline personnel, documenting the conflict through a series of vivid drawings sketched in the heart of the action. ![]()
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