The Mariner's Return, 1953

Richard Eurich RA (1903 - 1992)

RA Collection: Art

Eurich's love of and talent for painting coastal scenes was recognised in the early 1940s, when he was appointed an Official War Artist. He lived from 1934 in Dibden Purlieu, Hampshire, where the nearby Solent and Southampton docks became an important source of inspiration.

Eurich said that his Diploma work showed a scene of his own invention rather than a particular time or place. Unusually he never made preparatory sketches for his works but preferred to rely on visual memory and imagination. The painting playfully overturns our expectations of historical and spatial contexts. From an elevated gull's-eye view we see an ancient ship dock at a modern-day harbour. The town folk who rush forward to greet the vessel, convey the sense of community and continuity, which is a common feature of Eurich's work.