Blog post

Worrall at Work

Worrall at Work

A great deal of our attention during the Worrall exhibition has been focussed upon a very narrow section of his life- namely his experiences and depictions of war.

However, this was in general a very small part of his life as a whole, although no doubt a part that affected the way he thought and felt throughout his life.

One of the great things about this exhibition is the fact that we are not simply displaying static paintings by an artist remembered only by his work. The artwork depicts scenes that some of our visitors remember vividly from their own childhood, bringing back memories of playing in the wonderful-seeming open spaces left where once the bombed-out houses stood.

In addition to this, several visitors have remembered being taught by Worrall at the Grammar School that was his main work place before and after the Second World War and his commission as a war artist. One such visitor last Thursday brought with him a small book entitled Souvenirs of School Life, produced by King Edward VI Grammar School in Grimsby, 1954. This book, created by the school in the one year where it retained that name, held only a few photographs of school life. One of these, however, portrays Worrall in an altogether more peaceful setting than the artwork on display here at the museum shows- that of him teaching students to paint a still-life in a quiet class-room.