Comrades in Eastbourne

John Wyver writes: I was today ridiculously late in visiting the Towner Eastbourne’s revelatory Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism exhibition — it has been open since May and now you have only until Sunday to catch it. Which, needless to say, you should, in part because it features a host of fascinating and little-known artworks, as well as a wealth of associated contextual photos, diaries, catalogues, posters and the like, but also because it lays out an alternative history of mid-century British art to that accepted as the mainstream. And then there’s its telling of a hopeful and inspiring tale of engaged artists standing against fascism. So perhaps there is a lesson or two there for us. Developed from Andy Friend’s exceptional book Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism 1933-1943, published by Thames & Hudson last autumn in a gloriously illustrated edition, the show relates the story of the Artists’ International; Association (AIA), and highlights the work of eleven of its…