Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth

This portraitback to top

This portrait by the exiled Polish artist, Henryk Gotlib, was produced under unlikely circumstances. An expressionist artist, Gotlib attended the conferences of the British Association of Scientists on the post-war role of science. He drew quick sketches of the key delegates, including Morrison, who later added science to his ministerial portfolio. Renowned for his pared down, figurative technique that captured the bare lines of his subject's character, Gotlib reiterated the recognised markers of Morrison's cockney attributes - the jaunty quiff, homely profile, and energetic way of speaking - from a modernist perspective.

Events of 1939back to top

Current affairs

Britain goes to war. The German invasion of Poland demonstrated that the policy of appeasement had failed. After refusing to meet Britain's ultimatum to withdraw troops, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The Second World War had begun.

Art and science

The Sutton Hoo burial ship is discovered. Apparently following a dream, Mrs Pretty invited the archaeologist Basil Brown to investigate a series of burial mounds on her estate on the banks of the river Deben in Suffolk. The excavation revealed an Anglo-Saxon burial, uncovering the most significant horde of early medieval artefacts found in Britain (now housed at the British Museum).

International

The Second World War begins. Germany's invasion of Poland prompted Britain and France to declare war forming the core of the Allied powers. As part of the Soviet-Nazi Pact, the Soviet Union joined the war on the German side, helping, with Italy, to form the Axis Powers. Poland was soon overpowered and the Baltic Republics and Finland were invaded by the Soviet Union.

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