| Place | Europe: France, Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Flers |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART00134 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | sheet: 39.8 x 72.2 cm; image: 39.8 x 72.2 cm |
| Object type | Work on paper |
| Physical description | watercolour and pencil on paper mounted on cardboard |
| Place made | France: Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Flers |
| Date made | 1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
On the road to Flers, February 1917
Description
Depicts a war damaged landscape with the remains of a tank on the left near Flers on the Western Front in 1917. George Benson (1886-1960) was a painter and muralist who studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne in 1903. He worked as an illustrator for the 'Bulletin' in Sydney and then as an illustrator and cartoonist for Melbourne 'Punch'. As a result of his drawings at Gallipoli and in France during the First World War, he was made an official war artist in 1918. He studied in London after the war, returning to Melbourne in 1919 to complete works for the AWM and spent the next decade painting watercolour landscapes and working as a book illustrator. He also served as a camouflage artist during the Second World War.