Our Lady of Peace

A knight, dressed in chivalric armour, is about to depart to battle. He is praying in an Italian church when a vision of the Virgin Mary appears to him surrounded by cherubs and rainbows. The knight clasps his hands together, wishing for protection in battle and in hope that his actions in battle will bring peace. Evelyn’s inclusion of this paradoxical concept speaks to her pacifism and criticism of war. ‘Our Lady of Peace’ was the largest painting in the Red Cross exhibition at Edith Grove Studio in Chelsea which Evelyn held to raise funds for the Red Cross.