Few artists are as bound to a landscape as Eric Ravilious is to the South Downs. The luminous watercolours he painted of the chalk hills, white cliffs and winding valleys around Eastbourne have become some of the best-loved English landscape images of the twentieth century — and the town where he grew up now holds the largest collection of his work anywhere in the world. This is the story of Eastbourne’s own Eric Ravilious.
An Eastbourne upbringing
Eric William Ravilious was born in Acton, west London, in July 1903, but the family moved to Eastbourne while he was still a child, where his parents ran an antiques shop. He grew up in the town and was schooled locally, and in 1919 he won a scholarship to the Eastbourne School of Art. Three years later a further scholarship took him to the Design School of the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied under the painter Paul Nash and struck up a lifelong friendship with fellow artist Edward Bawden. After graduating he came back to Eastbourne to teach part-time at the very art school where he had trained — making him both a celebrated student and a teacher there. The town, and above all the sweep of Downs behind it, shaped his eye for the rest of his life.
Painter of the South Downs
Ravilious worked mainly in watercolour, a medium he made entirely his own with clean colour, meticulous layered brushwork and an off-kilter, modern clarity. He has been called the “artist par excellence of the South Downs”, and it’s easy to see why: the chalk hills that begin their westward journey right behind Eastbourne fill much of his finest work. He was a frequent guest at Furlongs, the cottage of his friend the artist Peggy Angus near Firle, and from there painted the Downland scenes that made his name. His 1939 watercolour of Cuckmere Haven, the ancient chalk figures such as the Long Man of Wilmington, and his celebrated Train Landscape all capture a quiet, almost empty England poised between the old world and the new.
Did you know? Ravilious’s landscapes are famously almost devoid of people — but they’re full of human traces: worn paths, zig-zag fences and rusting farm machinery, hinting at the walkers and workers just out of view.
He was far more than a landscape painter, too. He was a gifted wood-engraver and book illustrator, designed much-collected ceramics for Wedgwood — including a George VI coronation mug and the popular Alphabet Mug — and produced graphics for London Transport. This range across “fine” and “applied” art is part of what makes his work so distinctive.
War artist and early death
When the Second World War came, Ravilious became an official War Artist, painting ships, submarines, coastal defences and aircraft with the same cool precision he had brought to the Downs. In September 1942, while on an air-sea rescue mission off Iceland, the RAF aircraft he was aboard was lost. He was 39, and became the first British war artist to die on active service in the conflict. His death cut short a career that was still developing, and for decades afterwards his reputation faded — before a remarkable revival returned him to the front rank of British artists.
His legacy at Towner Eastbourne
The town that raised him has become the heart of his legacy. Towner Eastbourne holds the largest collection of Ravilious’s work in the world, with a dedicated gallery space bringing together watercolours, wood-engravings, prints, preparatory drawings, ceramics and books — the most extensive ongoing display of his art anywhere. Interest has surged in recent years, helped by major exhibitions and the 2022 documentary film Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War, released to mark the 80th anniversary of his death. Admission to Towner is free (a donation is suggested), making it easy to stand before the very landscapes he loved — and then walk out into them.
Eric Ravilious: FAQs
Why is Eric Ravilious connected to Eastbourne?
Ravilious grew up in Eastbourne after his family moved there in his childhood. He won a scholarship to the Eastbourne School of Art in 1919 and later returned to teach there, and the South Downs around the town became the great subject of his watercolours.
Where can I see Ravilious’s paintings in Eastbourne?
Towner Eastbourne holds the world’s largest collection of his work and displays it in a dedicated gallery. Admission is free, though exactly which pieces are on show can vary because the watercolours are light-sensitive.
How did Eric Ravilious die?
He died in September 1942, aged 39, while serving as an official War Artist. The RAF aircraft he was aboard was lost during an air-sea rescue mission off Iceland, making him the first British war artist to die on active service in the Second World War.
What is Ravilious best known for?
His luminous watercolours of the South Downs and English landscape, often featuring chalk figures and a striking sense of emptiness. He was also a noted wood-engraver, book illustrator and designer of ceramics for Wedgwood.
Follow in his footsteps: see his work at Towner Eastbourne, then walk the landscapes he painted at Cuckmere Haven & the Seven Sisters and along the Beachy Head cliffs.