Cultural Productions - War Artists

As part of my Diploma assessment I need to produce seven art works representing seven artists or events from the timeline 1920 to 1960.
The first one I have chosen is War Artists and the events are the First World War, Second World War and the Vietnam War. I have chosen to produce a triptych which represents my family’s experiences of these wars and using art works that represent my families experience in each war.

My thanks to the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au)for their help in gaining permission to reproduce the three works I have used in this piece.

Here is a photo of the finished montage:





I have used works by: H. Septimus Power, Sybil Craig and Ken McFadden, to represent
WW1, WW2 & Vietnam in the form of a montage (1918, 1940’s, 1960’s)

1. Power (ART 19842) First Australian Artillery going into the 3rd battle of Ypres. Painted in England 1919. Trained in Melbourne and Paris. Made an Honorary Lieutenant as war artist to cover events on the Western Front. Already well known for his skill in painting animals, he produced great heroic paintings during WW1. Against Modernism he believed it saw “good artists being ruined”.


2. Craig (ART 23507) Girls working in Container Production Room (Cartridge Bundling Section, Commonwealth explosives factory, Maribyrnong) Painted in 1945. Women became the most predominate workforce in munitions factories during WW2. They wore protective clothing which in dangerous areas was devoid of all metal such as buttons or zips. Craig was one of three women appointed as official war artists during WW2. Along with Donald Friend and Sali Herman she was appointed due to her Modernist style. An only child, she worked from her parent’s home using public transport to complete her works, a duty to the war effort.


3. McFadyen (ART40746) Chopper Lift-out. Painted in 1967. Studied under William Dargie. One of only two artists appointed to record the Vietnam War. Required to undertake jungle training prior to going, he accompanied soldiers into the field. He uses deep shadows and stark highlights to capture the tropical climate. He covered the 3 services and produced sketches, portraits, quick studies as well as oil paintings. The importance of machines and technology is shown in most of his large works. His subjects also included the local people.

Reference: Artists in Action from the collection of the Australian War Memorial – Lola Wilkins (Editor) Australian War Memorial 2003
Website: www.awm.gov.au