Artist in Residence, RAF Centenary, 2018
The Last of the Few: Jeremy Houghton and the Enduring Power of Portraiture in Commemoration of the RAF Centenary
In 2018, to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force, Jeremy Houghton—widely recognised as Britain’s leading contemporary artist in residence—was commissioned to undertake a project of unique national significance. Already celebrated for residencies with HM Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, the RAF, Goodwood, and the British Army, Houghton has carved a reputation for creating artwork that captures pivotal moments in British public life through a distinctive blend of movement, atmosphere and storytelling.
For the RAF100 commemorations, he was tasked with sketching the last surviving airmen of the Battle of Britain—an initiative that not only honoured “the Few,” but also preserved their legacy through the intimate, interpretive lens of fine art.
As Houghton later wrote in his reflective essay, “The Last of the Few and Many”:
“It was essential they were drawn without uniform or ceremony, with a kind of gentle dignity. These men were no longer pilots but people—aged, reflective, honest.”
This approach stood in deliberate contrast to traditional military portraiture, which often emphasised formality, rank and regalia. Instead, Houghton sought to capture their inner lives—their humility, memory, and quiet strength—placing him within a long and rich lineage of war artists committed to portraying the human cost and complexity of conflict.
Among those he sketched was Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum, a Battle of Britain fighter ace and author of the bestselling memoir First Light. As Houghton recounts:
“They wanted to be seen as men rather than pilots… There was a sense of quiet pride, but also emotional distance from the events of the past. I felt a great sense of responsibility.”
By 2018, only four of “the Few” were still living. Their portraits—rendered in Houghton’s elegant, fluid pencil work—serve not only as historical records, but also as meditations on time, memory, and mortality. Since their completion, all four of the men have passed away, lending these works additional poignancy and significance.
The success of these portraits led to a second RAF commission: a series of sketches of veterans from Britain’s wartime bombing campaigns, most notably George “Johnny” Johnson, the last surviving original member of the famed No. 617 Squadron RAF, known as the “Dambusters.” Houghton was again guided by a respectful, humanising approach:
“I wasn’t interested in depicting medals or ranks. I wanted to capture character—the feeling behind the story.”
Together, both bodies of work were exhibited and auctioned, raising £75,000 for the RAF Air Cadets—an organisation dedicated to preparing the next generation of aviators and service personnel. As the RAF transitions into its second century, Houghton’s work provides a bridge between the historical and the contemporary, preserving not just the likenesses but the spirit of those who shaped Britain’s aerial history.
A Legacy of Aviation Art
Houghton’s contribution to RAF100 places him in the esteemed company of British artists who have shaped our visual memory of aerial warfare. The tradition dates back to the early days of flight itself. During the First and Second World Wars, artists like Christopher R.W. Nevinson, whose dynamic Dogfight paintings captured the abstraction and vertigo of early air combat, and Eric Kennington, whose poignant RAF portraits balanced heroism with human frailty, laid the groundwork for the genre.
Later, Frank Wootton became one of the best-known aviation artists of the 20th century, documenting Spitfires, Hurricanes, and bombing raids in sweeping oils that married technical precision with emotional resonance. Terence Cuneo also famously rendered aircraft and military parades with mechanical mastery and symbolic power.
Unlike many of these artists, however, Jeremy Houghton brings a distinctive looseness of line and abstraction of form to his work. Often working in negative space, his drawings and paintings evoke not only the action of flight but its ephemerality—the sense that what is seen is always on the verge of disappearing. His style, both dynamic and reflective, is especially well-suited to themes of memory, legacy, and movement across time.
An Artist in Residence of a Generation
Houghton’s RAF portraits are just one chapter in a career built on high-profile residencies across the British establishment—from the Royal Household and the British Army, to Goodwood, Wimbledon, and London’s Air Ambulance. His capacity to embed himself within an institution, observe it intimately, and then translate that experience into art that is both personal and universal, has earned him the reputation as Britain’s most eminent artist in residence.
At a time when the boundaries between history, memory, and contemporary life are increasingly blurred, Houghton’s work continues to offer clarity, reverence, and a deep humanism. As he reflects:
“Art can’t change the past, but it can make us see it—and feel it—in a new way. That’s what I aim to do with every sketch.”
Follow this link to watch Jeremy talk further about this project on the BBC One Show.
Read ‘The Last of the few and Many’ written by Jeremy Houghton.