Portrait of Lieutenant John (Jack) Longstaff by his father John Longstaff

Lieutenant John Campbell 'Jack' Longstaff, British Army, 1/5 Battalion York and Lancashire Regiment. Jack was killed in action on the 7th of July 1916 during the Somme campaign. This portrait was painted posthumously by his father, the artist John Longstaff.

The outbreak of the First World War affected the artist's family, as his three eldest sons had enlisted with the British Army. The impact of this involvement is clear in this emotionally rendered portrait. A celebrated portraitist Longstaff was influenced by the dark tonal portraits of the Spanish artist Velasquez. Here he has portrayed the young man in semi-profile. His uniformed figure turns away from the viewer into the dark shadowy background, while his face is bathed in a gentle light. It is an expression of a father's grief capturing the presence of a son forever lost. Inscribed verso 'not for public sale', this is a deeply personal image that Longstaff had painted for himself rather than for public exhibition.

The Memorial commissioned John Longstaff as an official war artist (1918- 1919 and again in 1921) due to his celebrated reputation as a portrait artist. He painted many notable military figures for the collection including General Sir John Monash.