The story of D-Day told through art. Published by the Military Gallery to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the historic events of June 1944.

6 June 1944: the date that marked the beginning of the end of the war in north-west Europe, and the day on which the liberation of France began. Re-live the story of D-Day with this 128 page book lavishly illustrated with paintings and drawings assembled from the archives of the Military Gallery. Travel through the pre-invasion preparation, the landings themselves, and subsequent battle for control of Normandy as seen through the eyes of the world's leading military and aviation artists, creating a visual masterpiece to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Together with specially commissioned new pieces, these images form an unrivalled anthology of artistic work depicting the events of D-Day.

The paintings and drawings included are from the studios of five highly talented artists whose work helps to impart some of the emotion that photographs so often fail to capture: ROBERT TAYLOR, acknowledged as the world's premier aviation and maritime artist, leads the way. ANTHONY SAUNDERS, one of the most inspirational artists of his generation, allows us to follow the timeline of events that took place in June 1944; as do those of SIMON SMITH, who is equally at home painting in traditional oils or using digital technologies, along with CHRIS COLLINGWOOD, whose attention to detail make him a leading figure artist. A number of paintings and the majority of pencil drawings come from the studio of RICHARD TAYLOR, regarded as one of the foremost artists in the genre and whose skill with the pencil is unsurpassed. These exceptional images help knit together this account of the Allied Invasion of Normandy, creating a visually inspiring masterpiece.

The book is divided into two parts: the first tells the story of the invasion from the planning to the Channel crossing, storming the beaches and the early days of the battle for Normandy. The second part, Wings of Victory, gives a detailed breakdown of the various aircraft involved and their part in the battle. The text is all new and is liberally supported by maps, diagrams and of course plenty of artwork. The art pieces included are a mix of older releases from the Military Gallery archives and new works commissioned specifically for the book. The majority of the images are aviation but there are still plenty covering the ground forces and maritime aspects of the operation.

Author: Michael Craig

Colour plates: 48    Pages: 128    978-0-9549970-3-8