Australia,
Britain
and Canada
in the
Second World War
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Australian artist

Thake, Eric (1904-1982)

Portrait of artist Eric Thake, taken by Richard Beck, 1975; donated by the artist's family to the collection of the Australian War Memorial P04559.001

Thake studied at the National Gallery Art School in 1921 and with George Bell between 1925 and 1928. He was an admirer of the modernist British artists Edward Wadsworth, Paul Nash and Eric Ravilious. He enlisted in the RAAF in 1943 and was appointed an official war artist by the RAAF Historical Unit in 1945. A dedicated modernist, his work is surrealist and whimsical.

The artwork in this exhibition

Wrecked Lodestar - Eric Thake, Australian War Memeorial, ART 26790
Australian War Memorial Canadian War Museum Imperial War Museum