A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Jane Bingham, War and Conflict, Raintree - 2006, pages 30-35Imperial War Museum (IWM), header phrase, "war shapes lives" War artists explore the visual and sensory dimensions of war, often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.Australian War Memorial (AWM): Australian official war artists
These artists may be involved in war as onlookers to the scenes, military personnel, or as specifically commissioned to be present and record military activity.
Artists record military activities in ways that cameras and the written word cannot. Their art collects and distills the experiences of the people who endured it.U.S. Naval Historical Center (NHHC), "World War II Navy Art: A Vision of History,", 2001 The artists and their artwork affect how subsequent generations view military conflicts. For example, Australian war artists who grew up between the two world wars were influenced by the artwork which depicted the First World War, and there was a precedent and format for them to follow.Reid, John B. (1977). Australian Artists at War, Vol. 2, p. 5.
Official war artists have been appointed by governments for information or propaganda purposes and to record events on the battlefield,National Archives (UK), "'The Art of War,' Learn About the Art." but there are many other types of war artists. These can include combatants who are artists and choose to record their experiences, non-combatants who are witnesses of war, and prisoners of war who may voluntarily record the conditions or be appointed war artists by senior officers.
In New Zealand, the title of appointed "war artist" is "army artist". In the United States, the term "combat artist" has come to be used to mean the same thing."With Sketchpads and Guns, Semper Fi";
Some examples and their background William Simpson was an artist-correspondent who sent artwork to London from the front during the Crimean War.Harrington, Peter. "The First True War Artist," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Vol. 9, No. 1, Autumn 1996, pp. 100–109. Alfred Waud was an American Civil War pictorial newspaper illustrator. Ogata Gekkō and Tsuguharu Foujita created woodblock prints for Japanese publications. Ronald Searle recorded life in Japanese POW camps.Grove, Valerie. The Times (London). February 20, 2010. Emmanuel Leutze's 1851 studio painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware is historically incorrect, and Leutze was born decades after the event his painting depicts, but this work has become an icon of popular culture.
War artists by nationality
Argentine Cándido López, 1840–1902, Paraguayan War
Australian
War artists have depicted all the conflicts in which Australians have been called to combat. The Australian tradition of "official war artists" started with the First World War. Artists were granted permission to accompany the Australian Imperial Force to record the activities of its soldiers. During the Second World War, the Australian War Museum, later called the Australian War Memorial, engaged artists. At the same time, the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force appointed official war artist-soldiers from within their ranks.Wilkins, Lola. "Interpreting the war: Australia's Second World War art." CWM, 2005. These embedded war artists have depicted the activities of Australian forces in Korea, Vietnam, East Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The ranks of non-soldier artists like George Gittoes continue to create artwork which becomes a commentary on Australia's military actions in war.Strauss, David Levi. "George Gittoes with David Levi Strauss," The Brooklyn Rail (New York). July 8, 2010; Order of Australia, George Gittoes, AM, excerpt of citation, "For service to art and international relations as an artist and photographer portraying the effects on the environment of war, international disasters and heavy industry".
Selected artists A select list of representative Australian artists includes:
Second Boer War William Dargie CBE, 1912–2003AWM: Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902; The incident for which Captain Howse was awarded the VC in Vredefort, July 1900 by William Dargie (1968, oil on paper on board, 25.5 x 35.5 cm), AWM ART29246
First World War George Bell, 1878–1966 Charles Bryant, 1883–1937 Will Dyson, 1880–1938 A. Henry Fullwood, 1863–1930 George Lambert ARA, 1873–1930 Fred Leist, 1878–1945 John Longstaff, 1862–1941 Louis McCubbin, 1890–1952Gray, Anne. (1986) "McCubbin, Louis Frederick (1890–1952)," Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 10, pp. 243–244; excerpt, "Appointed an official war artist under the Australian Records Section scheme to the 3rd Division, he visited scenes of battles with Wallace Anderson and Charles Web Gilbert after the war to collect data for proposed dioramas. Harold Septimus Power, 1877–1951 James Quinn, 1869–1951 Arthur Streeton, 1867–1943Second World War Stella Bowen, 1893–1947 Ernest Buckmaster, 1897-1968 Norma Bull, 1906-1980 Colin Colahan, 1897–1987 William Dargie CBE, 1912–2003 William Dobell OBE, 1899–1970 Russell Drysdale AC, 1912–1981 Richard Eurich OBE RA, 1903–1992 Murray Griffin, 1903–1992 Harold Herbert, 1891–1945 Ivor Hele, 1912–1993 Nora Heysen AM, 1911–2003 Frank Hodgkinson AM, 1919–2001 Rex Julius, 1914-1944 Alan Moore, 1914-2015 Sydney Nolan OM AC, 1917–1992 William Edwin Pidgeon, 1909–1981 Grace Cossington Smith AO, 1892–1984Recent conflicts Rick Amor, b. 1948, Peacekeeping in East Timor Conway Bown, b. 1966, Australian Army War ArtistDefence, Dept of. Media Release "The Creation of the Army's Official Art Collection" Peter Churcher, b. 1964, war on terrorism George Gittoes AM, b. 1949 Shaun Gladwell, b. 1972, War in Afghanistan Ivor Hele, 1912–1993, Korean War Ken McFadyen, 1932–1998, Vietnam War Lewis Miller, b. 1959, War in Iraq Frank Norton, 1916–1983, Korean War Wendy Sharpe, b. 1960, Peacekeeping in East Timor
Austrian
Alfred Basel Roman Zenzinger
Belgian First World War Alfred Bastien, 1873—1955
British
British participation in foreign wars has been the subject of paintings and other works created by Britain's war artists. Artwork like the 1688 painting,The Fleet at Sea by Willem van de Velde the Younger depict the Royal Navy in readiness for battle. The Ministry of Defence art collection includes many paintings showing battle scenes, particularly naval battles.Ministry of Defence (MoD), Battles Military art and portraiture has evolved along with other aspects of war. The British official war artists of the First World War created a unique account of that conflict. The British War Artists Scheme expanded the number of official artists and enlarged the scope of their activities during the Second War.Tolson, Roger. "A Common Cause: Britain's War Artists Scheme." CWM, 2005.
Significant themes in the chronicle of twentieth-century wars have been developed by non-military, non-official, civilian artists. For example, society portraitist Arabella Dorman's paintings of wounded Iraq War veterans inspired her to spend two weeks with three regiments in different frontline areas: the Green Jackets at Basra Palace, the Queen's Own Gurkhas at Shaibah Logistics Base ten miles south-west of Basra, and the Queen's Royal Lancers in the Maysaan desert. In the field, Dorman drew quick charcoal portraits of the men she met. Returning to England, the sketches she made helped her use art to "evoke the emotions and psychological impact of war," rather than depicting the "physical horror" of war.Harrison, David. "War artist Arabella Dorman paints Iraq," Telegraph (London). May 2, 2009.
Selected artists A select list of representative British artists includes:
Napoleonic Wars Denis Dighton, 1792–1827National Maritime Museum (NMM), The Fall of Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805 by Denis Dighton, c. 1825. Robert Ker Porter, 1777–1842National Portrait Gallery(NPG), Robert Ker Porter John Christian Schetky, 1778–1874
Crimean War Jerry Barrett, 1824–1906National Portrait Gallery, Expansion and Empire Oswald Brierly, 1817–1894Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), Brierly, Sir Oswald Walters (1817–1894) William Simpson, 1823–1899Library of Congress (LOC), Simpson, William, 1823–1899
Boer Wars John Henry Frederick Bacon, 1868–1914 René Bull, 1872–1942 Charles Edwin Fripp, 1854–1906Charles Edwin Fripp; excerpt, "Fripp also held a commission in the Artists Rifles for 13 years ...." Godfrey Douglas Giles, 1857–1941British Sporting Artists Trust (BSAT), Godfrey Douglas Giles Ernest Prater, 1864–1950WorldCat Identities: Prater, Ernest Melton Prior, 1845–1910Brighton and Hove Museums, Melton Prior ; Lee, Sidney. (2006). Frederic Villiers, 1851–1922 William Barnes Wollen, 1857–1936
First World War Anna Airy, 1882–1964 Muirhead Bone, 1888–1953 Sydney Carline, 1888–1929 Colin Gill, 1892–1940 Eric Kennington RA, 1888–1960; also a war artist in the Second World War. Wyndham Lewis, 1882–1957 John Hodgson Lobley RA, 1878–1954 John Edmund Mace, 1889–1952 Olive Mudie-Cooke, 1890–1925 John Nash CBE RA, 1893–1977; also a war artist in World War II. Paul Nash, 1889–1946; also a war artist in World War II. C.R.W. Nevinson, 1889–1946 Sir William Orpen KBE RA RHA, 1878–1931; also a war artist in World War II. Sir Stanley Spencer RA, 1891–1959; also a war artist in World War II.Second World War George Worsley Adamson RE, 1913–2005 Edward Ardizzone CBE RA, 1900–1979 Richard Eurich RA, 1903–1992 Edward Bawden RA, 1903–1989 Henry Carr RA, 1894–1970 Jack Bridger Chalker, 1918–2014 Leslie Cole, 1910–1976 Charles Cundall, 1890–1971 Amy Elton, 1904-1989 (working for the Department of External Affairs in India, 1942–1945) Reginald Eves, 1876–1941 Anthony Gross, 1905-1984Thomas, Ronan; West End at War: Anthony Gross. Retrieved 24 April 2013Tate: Anthony Gross - Artist biography. Retrieved 24 April 2013 Bernard Hailstone, 1910–1987 Thomas Hennell, 1903–1945 Eliot Hodgkin, 1905–1987 Ley Kenyon, 1913-1990David Buckman. 'Artists in Britain Since 1945 (1998), p. 692 Laura Knight DBE RA, 1877–1970 (Thomas) John Mansbridge, 1901–1981 Philip Meninsky, 1919–2007. John Mennie, 1911–1982 James Morris, 1908–1989 Ashley George Old, 1913–2001 Cuthbert Orde, 1888–1968 John Piper, 1903–1992 Roland Vivian Pitchforth, 1911–1999 Eric Ravilious, 1903–1942 Leo Rawlings, 1918-1990 Albert Richards, 1919–1945 Henry Rushbury KCVO RA, 1898–1968 Stella Schmolle, 1908–1975 Ronald Searle CBE RDI, 1920–2011 Ruskin Spear RA, 1911–1990 Sir Stanley Spencer RA, 1891–1959; also a war artist in World War I. Graham Sutherland OM, 1903–1980 Ernest Wallcousins, 1882–1976 Carel Weight CBE RA, 1908–1997 John Worsley, 1897–1991 Doris Zinkeisen, 1919–2000Recent conflicts Richard Johnson, b. 1966 Derek Eland, b. 1961 (Afghanistan, 2011) Fergus Greer, b. 1961, Kosovo Peter Howson, b. 1958 John Keane, b. 1954 Linda Kitson, b. 1945 (Falklands, 1982) Xavier Pick, b. 1972 (Iraq with British and US Forces, 2009–2011) Steve Mumford, b. 1960 (Iraq with US Forces) Paul Seawright, b 1965 (Afghanistan) Imperial War Museum Commission Barry John (artist), b 1974 (Northern Ireland) with Royal Welsh
Canadian