In 1938 Amy Lambert produced a book titled G.W. Lambert, A.R.A. (Thirty years of an artist’s life). Amy used a lot of personal correspondence from her husband including substantial accounts of his time working as a war artist in the Middle East and Gallipoli. Through these letters we get an insight into Lambert’s working methods, his relationships to officers and troopers of the Light Horse, and his reactions to the landscapes and historic battlefields he visited.

When he first arrived in Egypt in January 1918 he wrote that “I am ridiculously happy. Already I have done three pieces of work and everywhere I look there are glorious pictures, magnificent men and real top-hole Australian horses.” The beauty of the place overwhelmed him and he developed an abiding respect for the men of the Light Horse which eventually found expression in his large commissioned paintings. Towards the end of his second visit in 1919 and as he was packing up to return to London, he wrote to Amy: “Everything is closing up here, and there is a beastly left-over feeling about us all.” The Australian camps were being dismantled and Lambert, like others was returning to a post-war world.

This book is full of information and insights into the character of Lambert and despite Amy virtually erasing herself from the narrative, there are also many clues for the reader about their long lasting and devoted marriage.  First published in 1938 it was reprinted in 1977 by Australian Artist Editions.  Copies of the 1977 edition of the book are also available through the Memorial’s bookshop.