Encyclopedia
Dioramas
Mont St Quentin diorama
Mont St Quentin, 1918
Sculpture: Web Gilbert, Leslie Bowles
Painting: Louis McCubbin, George Browning, Bob Slater
The diorama depicts a scene during the 6th Brigade's attack on Mont St Quentin on 1 September 1918.
Work began on Mont St Quentin, 1918 in 1920. It was the first diorama completed for the Memorial and previously referred to as Storming of Mont St Quentin. A model of the diorama was first displayed in Melbourne and Sydney. The original figures were made of plasticine and later cast in metal for installation at the Memorial.
Mont St Quentin, 1918 was originally displayed at the Memorial in the France and Belgium gallery and relocated to the Gallipoli gallery in 1971. It was placed in storage in 1982 and relocated to the Western Front gallery in 1987.
In 1939 the diorama was damaged when a load of bricks fell onto it during the Memorial’s construction. Leslie Bowles was commissioned to remodel the destroyed figures. The background was repainted by George Browning, first in 1947, and again in 1987 when the work was refurbished for relocation. Don Evans is also noted as having repainted the background at some stage, possibly when the work was relocated to the Gallipoli gallery in 1971 or with Browning in 1987.
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