During the early 1930s, when he moved to Paris, he travelled widely through Europe, not only exploring the countryside and Mediterranean coast of France. He spent his first summer of 1931, with his Cambridge friend the journalist Ralph Parker, travelling through Venice, Budapest, Belgrade and Greece, on a tour of the Byzantine churches of Serbia and Greece including to Mount Athos. They were made very welcome by the monks of Mount Athos. The following year Trevelyan went to Yugoslavia via Germany, with Patrick Brunner to make a film of the Grape Harvest, and in 1933, he was in Spain.

In 1961, Trevelyan was invited by his old Cambridge friend Ralph Parker (1907-1964) to visit Russia. Parker had initially been the Moscow correspondent for The Times and The New York Times, who settled in Russia in 1949 and became attached to the Russian diplomatic service. Consequently, Parker had access to parts of the Soviet Union that were off limits to most travellers and Trevelyan and Mary Fedden were allowed to drive across vast remote areas of Russia. They were also able to meet some of the officially recognised artists and visit their working spaces. While in Moscow, they spent a day with another Cambridge contemporary, Guy Burgess, a visit according to their son Philip they found unsettling. Although well looked after Burgess was isolated from the West and allowed little freedom (Philip Trevelyan, Julian Trevelyan, Picture Language, 2013, p. 196). Lots 21-25 are all sketches made during this visit and give some indication of the freedom of movement that Trevelyan and his wife Mary Fedden were afforded.

In autumn 1939, he joined his friend Bill Hayter in an industrial camouflage project, working on ways to disguise factories and gun emplacements from enemy aircraft and on methods of disguising buildings, such as applying striped roof patterns. In 1941, Trevelyan was called up and he joined the Royal Engineers, as part of their Camouflage Unit. Between 1940 and 1943, the artist was responsible for camouflaging some 60 of the 70 concrete pillboxes which had been built across the south and southwest of England. In 1942, he was sent to North Africa, Nigeria and the Middle East to inspect the camouflage of ammunition, fuel depots, troop camps and rail and road communications. Trevelyan found much of the work fascinating, although psychologically it took its toll and he was eventually discharged from duty. He found himself returning to his experiences in his art, often several years later, as with 'Camouflaged Aeroplane'.

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Wednesday 11 March 2026, 10.30am GMT

Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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• Friday 27 February: 10am–4pm
• Monday 2 March: 10am–4pm
• Tuesday 3 March: 10am–7pm

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• Saturday 7 March: 10am-3pm
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• Monday 9 March: 10am-4pm
• Tuesday 10 March: 10am-4pm

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