Main Street in Bapaume, the day after the town was occupied by the Australians

Place Europe: France, Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Bapaume
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

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

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.