First World War Art

• The Navy in Baghdad, 1918, by Donald Maxwell

  The Navy in Baghdad, 1918, by Donald Maxwell

  Maxwell was commissioned in 1918 to document the activities of British naval forces in the Middle East. This journey resulted in over 100 drawings, which were used to illustrate lively accounts of his travels.

• Women’s Canteen at Phoenix Works, Bradford, 1918, by Flora Lion

  Women’s Canteen at Phoenix Works, Bradford, 1918, by Flora Lion

  Lion was a portrait painter who was given access to paint factory scenes in Leeds and Bradford during the First World War. The couple in the centre, arms entwined, dominate the scene and embody the confidence of women newly liberated by employment.

• Dockyard, Portsmouth, 1918, by J D Fergusson

  Dockyard, Portsmouth, 1918, by J D Fergusson

  Dazzle marine camouflage transformed the look of First World War dockyards. Fergusson’s painting is a celebration of this aspect of the docks, and his work is much more involved with the formal concerns of shape and colour than with the wartime setting.

• The Balloon Apron, 1918, by Frank Dobson

  The Balloon Apron, 1918, by Frank Dobson

  Barrage balloon apron screens were intended to force German Gotha bombers to higher altitude, reducing their effectiveness as bombers. Dobson was suggested to paint this specific scene, of the Kynoch ammunition plant.

• Victoria Station, District Railway, 1918, by Bernard Meninsky

  Victoria Station, District Railway, 1918, by Bernard Meninsky

  Meninsky had previously served as a private in the Royal Fusiliers before being commissioned by the Ministry of Information in May 1918. The concept of the series Victoria Station, District Railway came directly from the Ministry.

• Flying Over the Desert at Sunset, Mesopotamia, 1919, by Sydney Carline

  Flying Over the Desert at Sunset, Mesopotamia, 1919, by Sydney Carline

  Carline piloted a Sopwith Camel over the Italian front in late 1917 and was later employed as a war artist to paint aerial battles. He and his brother Richard were sent to work in Palestine and Mesopotamia in 1919.