Sir Muirhead Bone WWI Artist’s Proof Lithograph Rouen Cathedral

Artist: Sir Muirhead Bone (1876-1953)
Title: Rouen Cathedral by Moonlight
Medium: Lithograph
Date: 1917

Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish painter and printmaker who served as an artist in both World Wars. He was the first official British war artist of WWI and arrived in France on 16th August 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.

From a small proof of 17, this lithograph shows the darkened silhouette of Rouen Cathedral. Architectural and at times bordering on the abstract, the view is in keeping with Bone’s pre-war landscapes, which included Gothic cathedrals and Norman buildings.

The original charcoal drawing was exhibited in Muirhead Bone’s Drawings of the Western Front at Colnaghi & Olbach in 1917. It can now be seen in the British Museum, along with the 150 other sketches made during Bone’s time on the Western Front.

The lithograph is signed in pencil and is numbered in roman numerals (beneath the mount) 2/17. The artist’s studio blindstamp can also be seen in the bottom right corner.


Dimensions: 43 x 27cm ( 17 x 10 ½ “)
Provenance: David Cohen Gallery
Inscriptions: Muirhead Bone (Pencil Signature)
Number: “2/17” (II / XVII)