Book excerpt: This is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of the entire career of British artist Richard Eurich (1903-1992), a figurative painter of compelling power and often visionary intensity who brought rare imaginative reserves to his depiction of the world around him, as well as to his apprehension of the mysterious and unseen. Eurich was a private man, not given to self-promotion, and as such has not received the widespread attention he deserves. The Art of Richard Eurich locates the artist within the context of 20th-century British art, demonstrating his relevance in all quarters of the art world of the period. Eurich was a draughtsman, landscape painter, teacher, war artist, autobiographer, marine painter extraordinaire, portrait painter, figure painter, satirist, genre painter, visual poet of the beach, and occasional sculptor. His many creative talents are united in this compelling analysis of the man who was responsible for them. Featuring a wide selection of his artworks, from the topographical to the visionary, from the drawn to the painted, this book unspools the narrative of Eurich's life through expertly selected paintings and drawings, and places him in relation to his fellow artists, friends, and contemporaries.