Place | Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli |
---|---|
Accession Number | ART00143 |
Collection type | Art |
Measurement | Framed: 128.9 cm x 148.3 cm x 10.1 cm; Unframed: 102 cm x 122.6 cm x 2.1 cm; Overall: 30 kg |
Object type | Painting |
Physical description | oil on linen |
Place made | United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London |
Date made | 1919 |
Conflict |
Period 1910-1919 First World War, 1914-1918 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain This item is in the Public Domain |
The man with the donkey, Anzac 1915
Arguably Australia's most famous soldier, 'Simpson' was neither a general nor a Victoria Cross recipient, but a stretcher bearer who served briefly in the nation's first major campaign. The painting depicts this essential ANZAC story of Simpson assisting a wounded man, who is being carried on a donkey. Pain and fatigue are etched into the face of the wounded soldier. Details such as Simpson's slouch hat reinforce the Australian mythology of this event. Simpson looks towards the viewer from under the brim of his slouch hat. He supports the weight of the injured soldier with his arm and steadfastly guides the party forward. The donkey has a red cross headband (medical officer's brassard) across its head. George Courtney Benson (1886-1960) was a painter and muralist. He studied at the National Gallery School, Melbourne from 1903 and later worked for the 'Bulletin' in Sydney, 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 appointed official war artist in 1918. He served with the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade and from June 1916 was with the British Expeditionary Forces in France. After the war, he continued to work for the War Records Section and returned to Melbourne in 1919 to complete works for the War Memorial and spent the next decade painting watercolour landscapes and working as a book illustrator. In 1931 he moved to Western Australia to undertake work on murals. Benson enlisted in the Australian Citizens Military Forces from 1940 to 1943, working in camouflage.
Related information
Conflicts
Related Objects
- 1914-15 Star : Private John Simpson, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF
- Medical armband said to have been worn by Simpson's donkey : Colonel A Sutton, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF
- Anzac Medallion : John Simpson
- RSPCA Purple Cross and certificate of award to Simpson's donkey 'Murphy'
- British War Medal 1914-20 : Private John Simpson, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF
- Victory Medal with MID : Private John Simpson, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF
- Identity Disc : Private John Simpson, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF
- Next of Kin Plaque : Private John Simpson, 3 Field Ambulance, AIF