Patient in arm abduction plaster splint

Drawing of patient in arm abduction splint, by Paul Drury, 1942-1944. Portrait of male patient with his arm in an abduction plaster splint. The patient is placed to the left of the painting, seated facing right, his face turned towards the viewer. He is bending his right arm, the cast is visible on his wrist and hand, but his jacket sleeve covers the rest. His left arm is resting on his lap. The background features a loose sketch of a surface with bowls and jars. Drawing features two signatures and dates, one stating 'Paul Drury, Roehampton, 1942' and the second '1944 P.D.' The drawing is squared off with the composition loosely continued below and to the right.

Paul Drury is best known as an accomplished etcher of portraits and landscapes. Part of the etching revival in the 1920s, Drury became head of the Etching Department at Goldsmiths from 1946 and President of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers from 1970. Relatively unknown, however, is his work during the Second World War at Queen Mary’s Hospital (QMH) Roehampton, which was founded in 1915 to cater to the huge numbers of amputee soldiers injured in the First World War.

Drury was posted to QMH as an assistant in the plaster workshop of the artificial limb unit in 1939, where he worked until the end of the war. Whilst there, he obtained permission from the War Artists Advisory Committee to make records of his experiences, producing a mix of finished and preparatory drawings, etchings, paintings and pastels that are represented in this collection of works. Through these, Drury captured the everyday activities of technicians, doctors and nursing staff alongside the wounded themselves, showing us a little of their personalities and emotions in portraits and group scenes. The works also introduce the wider experiences of convalescence at QMH during the war, including sheltering patients during air-raids, treatments for wounded limbs and the card games played to pass the time.