Xmas memories

Place Oceania: Australia
Accession Number ART09933
Collection type Art
Measurement sheet: 56.9 x 51 cm; image: 49.2 x 39 cm
Object type Print
Physical description lithograph on paper
Place made Australia: Victoria, Melbourne
Date made 1929
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 central figure, an ex-serviceman, now a swaggie carrying a swag and billy and followed by his dog. Beside him are two ghostly figures of servicemen, possibly his former mates. The serviceman on the right wears a steel helmet, while the one on the left wears a slouch hat and carries a rifle and bayonet. 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.