Singapore: Limbless Officers and Men Checking Out from Changi Gaol
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- Catalogue number
- Production date
- 1946
- Place made
- Singapore
- Subject period
- Materials
- medium: oil
- support: canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: Height 590 mm
- Support: Width 765 mm
- Alternative Names
- object category: painting
- Creator
- Category
- art
License Image
Object description
image: A group of men, all with amputated legs or arms, line up at a table. Many are using crutches, and a female nurse is
there to assist. Behind them are prisoner of war huts, and there are piles of white kit bags to the left and right.
Label
As the war progressed, and with it Cole's experiences of extraordinary and often horrific events, his work became
increasingly macabre. The contrast here between the starkly malnourished ex-prisoners and the comfortably rounded aid worker gives an
uneasy tension to the painting. However, there are signs that Cole felt a sense of hope. There is a relaxed, human aspect to the work, and
in the foreground there is a freshly created flower bed with a fragile bush in flower.
History note
War Artists Advisory Committee Commission
Associated people and organisations
Associated places
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