Location

Country: Singapore
City: Singapore
Place: British High Commission

A river runs through the foreground of this leafy city-scape of Singapore in 1945. A wide avenue leads the eye down the centre to the background, where the harbour is busy with military ships, hinting at the historical events at play. A former British colony, Singapore fell into the hands of Japan on 15 February 1942, leading to a period known as Syonanto which lasted until 12 September 1945. After Singapore’s return to British colonial rule, it would go on to become a sovereign city-state in 1965. The experience of Japanese rule is now commemorated in Singapore with Total Defense Day, which takes place annually on 15 February.
Following the outbreak of World War II, artist Leslie Cole joined the British Royal Air Force but was soon discharged for ill health. He returned to the front as a war artist, recording events in Malta and Pantelleria (1943); France and Egypt (1944); and Greece, Germany, Singapore, Burma, Borneo and Java (1945).

Places

Far East, Singapore

Subjects

WW2 art, townscape/cityscape, World War II, street, harbour, house, church, ship, battleship

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), watercolour (as artists materials), watercolour (as object name)

Artist

Leslie Cole (1910 - 1976)

Title

Singapore

Date

1945

Medium

Watercolour on paper

Dimensions

height: 44.50 cm, width: 94.00 cm

Acquisition

Presented via the Imperial War Museum, War Artists' Advisory Committee, April 1946

Inscription

br Leslie Cole.

GAC number

599