Stephen Bone (1904-58) was appointed official war artist by the War Artists Advisory Committee in 1943 after his father, Muirhead Bone, relinquished his post at the Admiralty. He was sent to sea to record war in the midst of the operations, serving on a variety of naval vessels until the end of the conflict. Bone made many drawings and paintings from his time on board the aircraft carrier HMS 'Pursuer'. From the bridge, he observed the strange ballet of the planes and the busy activity of engineers, pilots and seamen on the flight deck. The Grumman Martlets aeroplanes take off under the watchful eye of gunners. Unlike his more detailed pencil drawings, Bone experiments here with green and orange washes and cross-hatchings of ink in a style perhaps inspired by his contemporary and fellow war artist Eric Ravilious.