Eric Ravilious A4 Prints: ‘Cuckmere Haven’.

‘Cuckmere Haven’ Eric Ravilious, watercolour and pencil, 1939.

A beautifully observed watercolour by Ravilious, and a great personal favourite of mine, reminding me of many happy childhood days spent in this valley (and also in the beer garden of the Golden Galleon pub, as it was then). Painted in 1939 while Ravilious was staying at ‘Furlongs’ a few miles West of here, the area would shortly play host to a unit of Canadian troops a little further upstream at Exceat, and also act as a distinctive landmark for German bombers feeling their way along the Sussex coast. Nowadays, on a happier note, it’s home to a substantial squadron of Snowy Egrets.

Printed on 350gsm Invercote card stock using high quality inks to retain the colours of the original image. The dimensions are 210 x 297 mm, or 8.3 x 11.7 inches.

Eric Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was an exceptional watercolourist, wood engraver and designer. He grew up in the shadow of the Sussex Downs in the coastal town of Eastbourne, the surrounding landscape of which heavily influenced many of his best known works. His instantly recognisable style, palette and choice of subject have an almost universal appeal, a blend which has increased in popularity with the passing of time, particularly in the first two decades of the 21st century.