War artist by more unusual means. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art and becoming a commercial artist (employed primarily as an advertising illustrator), he eventually joined the British Merchant Navy as a radio operator. This was in 1940. His career at sea was to be short-lived for in March 1943 the ship he was serving on was torpedoed and sunk. Although initially declared ‘missing’, Plante was in fact rescued, eventually landing in Liverpool. Even at sea Plante continued to draw and paint. And when ashore, be it in Britain or in the USA, Plante did his best to establish and maintain contact with other artists, be they commercial or fine art based. When and where possible, he also exhibited. Soon after coming ashore as a survivor Plante was recruited by the Political Intelligence Department of the British Foreign Office. His remit was to produce illustrated propaganda material, working closely alongside the Americans, primarily in Egypt and, later, in Italy. Furthermore, through the Ministry of Information and the WAAC, Plante’s paintings were used to promote Britain’s war effort in the USA (where he eventually settled until his death). It is Plante’s contribution to Anglo-American relationships during the Second World War that form the focus of this study. However, the first part of the book concentrates on Plante’s time in the Merchant Navy and his experiences both afloat and ashore. To say that this book is ‘a break from tradition’ in how the majority of art history is written – even when about an individual practitioner – is not a negative criticism. There are of course samples of Plante’s paintings, drawings and commercial work, but the text is more about the man and his unusual career during the Second World War. One criticism is that the title is potentially misleading for the use of the word combat suggests, to British readers, something different than scenes on board merchant ships, albeit merchant ships in convoys. From the perspective of marine painting and its use as a reference tool Plante’s work verges on what is sometimes referred to as ‘primitive art’ and, in some cases, almost abstract. Plante was not a skilled draughtsman; there is evidence his knowledge of perspective theory and application was lacking, even in his commercial work. Paintings of his time in the Merchant Navy during the battle of the Atlantic are historically important, and interesting, and while they lack the detail and information compared to earlier war artists and illustrators of the nineteenth century, the style is very much a product of the time. Although no mention is made in this book, Plante was apparently an exhibitor with the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA). However, it is not known whether he ever applied for membership, or was ever nominated. It could be that by the time Plante returned to commercial work, the ‘accepted’ style of the RSMA meant that his work was too ‘modern’. The few samples of Plante’s propaganda work that are included have the required impact, with clear, succinct and to-the-point messages. This is an important work about a little-known aspect of the work of one, relatively littleknown artist, and former Merchant Navy radio officer, working under the auspices of the WAAC during the Second World War. michael leek strone, the holy loch http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2020.1703413 © Michael Leek

中文翻译：

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俾斯麦号战列舰：设计和运营历史

战争艺术家以更不寻常的方式。从爱丁堡艺术学院毕业并成为一名商业艺术家（主要担任广告插画师）后，他最终加入了英国商船队，担任无线电操作员。那是在 1940 年。他的海上生涯很短暂，因为 1943 年 3 月，他所服务的船被鱼雷击沉。尽管最初宣布“失踪”，但普兰特实际上已获救，并最终降落在利物浦。即使在海上，Plante 也继续绘画。上岸后，无论是在英国还是美国，Plante 都尽最大努力与其他艺术家建立并保持联系，无论他们是商业艺术家还是美术艺术家。在可能的时间和地点，他也展出。上岸后不久，作为幸存者的普兰特被英国外交部政治情报部招募。他的职责是制作插图宣传材料，与美国人密切合作，主要是在埃及，后来又在意大利。此外，通过信息部和 WAAC，Plante 的画作被用来宣传英国在美国的战争努力（他最终在那里定居，直到他去世）。普兰特在第二次世界大战期间对英美关系的贡献构成了本研究的重点。然而，本书的第一部分集中于普兰特在商船队的时间以及他在海上和岸上的经历。说这本书在大多数艺术史的写作方式上是“打破传统的”——即使是关于个人从业者——并不是一种消极的批评。当然还有 Plante 的绘画、素描和商业作品的样本，但文本更多的是关于这个人和他在第二次世界大战期间不寻常的职业生涯。一种批评是，该标题可能会因为使用“战斗”一词而产生误导，对英国读者来说，这与商船上的场景有所不同，尽管商船是护航的。从海洋绘画及其作为参考工具的使用的角度来看，Plante 的作品有时被称为“原始艺术”，在某些情况下，几乎是抽象的。Plante 不是一个熟练的绘图员。有证据表明他缺乏透视理论和应用的知识，即使在他的商业作品中也是如此。他在大西洋海战期间在商船队服役期间的绘画具有重要的历史意义，而且很有趣，虽然与 19 世纪早期的战争艺术家和插画家相比，他们缺乏细节和信息，但这种风格在很大程度上是那个时代的产物。尽管本书没有提及，Plante 显然是皇家海洋艺术家协会 (RSMA) 的参展商。但是，不知道他是否曾经申请过会员资格，或者是否曾被提名。可能是当 Plante 回到商业工作时，RSMA 的“被接受”风格意味着他的工作太“现代”了。包含的普兰特宣传工作的少数样本具有所需的影响，具有清晰、简洁和切中要害的信息。这是一部关于一位相对鲜为人知的艺术家和前商船海军无线电官员作品中鲜为人知的方面的重要作品，第二次世界大战期间在 WAAC 的主持下工作。michael leek strone，圣湖 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00253359.2020.1703413 © Michael Leek