painting, D-DAY - NORMANDY - THE RHINO FERRY

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Object Number 19710261-6230
Event 1939-1945 Second World War
1944 Battle of Normandy
Affiliation --
Artist / Maker / Manufacturer Fisher, Captain Orville Norman
Date Made 1945

Category Communication artifacts
Sub-category Art
Department Art and Memorials
Museum CWM
Earliest 1945/01/01
Latest 1945/12/31
Inscription VERSO ON CANVAS CENTRE IN BLACK MARKER:SER NO 2616;NEG NO WA827;D'DAY NORMANDY.:THE RHINO FERRY;FISHER;ON CANVAS FLAP UPPER LEFT IN RED:L - CD;ON STRETCHER BAR TOP LEFT TYPED PAPER LABEL:SER NO 2616 (UNDERLINED) NEG NO WA 827 (UNDERLINED);TITLE FOR PUBLICATION:D-DAY, NORMANDY: THE RHINO FERRY (UNDERLINED);COURSEULLES, 3RD CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION. (LABEL TORN THROUGH DIVISION);FROM AN OIL PAINTING BY CAPT. O.N. FISHER.;6 JUNE..1945;ON STRETCHER BAR TOP CENTRE TYPED PAPER LABEL:SER NO 2616 NEG NO WA 827 (HANDWRITTEN);'D' DAY - RHINO FERRY APPROACHING THE BEACHHEAD (UNDERLINED);COURSEULLES, (PARTLY TORN OFF) NORMANDY. 6 JUNE 44. OIL PAINTING;(LABEL TORN OFF AT CORNER) FISHER.;ON STRETCHER BAR TOP RIGHT IN BLACK MARKER:ACC: 12468;ON STRETCHER BAR LOWER LEFT STAMPED:PROPERTY OF;CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM;330 SUSSEX DRIVE;OTTAWA, ONTARIO K1A 0M8;ON STRETCHER BAR LOWER RIGHT STAMPED:PROPRIETE DE;MUSEE DE GUERRE DU CANADA;330, PROMENADE SUSSEX;OTTAWA. ONT. K1A 0M8 (0M8 ILLEGIBLE)
Medium oil
Support canvas
Materials Not applicable
Service Component Canadian Army
Measurements Height 81.7 cm, Width 97.3 cm

Caption Orville Fisher (1911 - 1999)
Additional Information Orville Fisher's paintings of the Second World War constitute one of the most complete records of Canada's day-to-day role in that conflict. Perhaps his chief claim to fame is that he was the only Allied war artist to land in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. This achievement is all the more extraordinary given the fact that he almost never made it overseas in the first place. Fisher worked as a service artist with the Canadian Army beginning in February 1942, and a year later became an official war artist. He did not re-enter civilian life until July 1946. As a war artist, and undoubtedly as a person, Fisher was a determined and creative man. In preparation for the D-Day invasion, he strapped tiny waterproof pads of paper to his wrist. After racing up the beach from his landing craft, Fisher made rapid, on-the-spot sketches, using perfectly dry materials, of the battle unfolding around him. Later, the artist created larger watercolour paintings away from the battlefront. Unlike fellow war artist Charles Comfort's reconstruction of the August 1942 Dieppe Raid that was created four years after the event in the peace and security of a studio, Fisher's D-Day - The Assault was based on a real-life experience of action replete with all the turmoil and blood. Attached to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Fisher landed on the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer. The first 20 minutes of Stephen Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan arguably re-creates the artist's D-Day experience in all its horror.