Bombed Houses near Euston Station

This drawing reveals the extent of the damage, caused by a bomb during the Second World War, on houses near Euston Station. In the foreground are the remains of one house, while its neighbour has been partially destroyed with rooms now open to view. The walls are crumbling, windows have been broken and roof tiles have been pulled apart. The destruction is made more pronounced by the inclusion of the relatively untouched bed in the top room, which evokes a more mundane, everyday reality which has also been destroyed.

Joesph Batò was a Hungarian artist who came to London in 1930 as a refugee from the Nazis. A former student of the French artist, Henri Matisse, Batò recorded the impact of the Second World War on London and its inhabitants. This drawing is one of several works depicting war-time London by the artist in the Museum's collection. In 1942, his works were published in 'Defiant City: drawings of bombed London'.