Place | Europe: France, Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Bapaume |
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Accession Number | ART02379 |
Collection type | Art |
Measurement | sheet: 45 x 57.4 cm; image: 45 x 57.4 cm |
Object type | Work on paper |
Physical description | crayon and wash on paper |
Place made | France: Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Bapaume |
Date made | May 1917 |
Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain This item is in the Public Domain |
Main Street in Bapaume, the day after the town was occupied by the Australians
Description
Depicts a scene of the badly damaged ruins of buildings in the main street of Bapaume, with a number of French people and a cart near by. An Australian soldier in uniform, carrying a pack on his back, walks by in the foreground. Will Dyson was the first Australian official war artist to visit the front during the First World War, travelling to France in December 1916, remaining there until May 1917, making records of the Australian involvement in the war. He was formally appointed as an official war artist, attached to the AIF, in May 1917, working in France and London throughout the war. His commission was terminated in March 1920.