Sketch Book Gulf War

In June 1991 Australian Expressionist artist Kevin Connor (b.1932) spent 16 days in Iraq documenting the aftermath of the First Gulf War. This sketch book consists of 94 leaves, 143 pages with works and 42 blank pages. It contains the preliminary drawings for the body of work ART29752.001-.60 and ART29726. The drawings and watercolours represent the landscapes and atrocities that Connor witnessed on a daily basis. It consists of 94 leaves, 143 pages with works and 42 blank pages. He focused on the devastation of the conflict incorporating the mass impact on civilians and infrastructure of the city. There are a number of works with the image of Sadam Hussein and his looming presence over the city. Connor has also focused on the 13 February Bombing where 400 civilians were killed. During this trip he traveled to Amman, Baghdad, Al Fallujah, Karbala, Al- Najaf, El Basrah, Safwan and Azamiyah. The drawings are executed in black ink and graphite pencil and towards the end of the sketch book are 8 watercolours.

• Amman embassy residence, garden and guard (from room). Journey to Iraq
• 2pm Amman
• Guard
• Amman
• B with guard / Roman theatre Amman
• Petra
• Petra
• Looking down the valley, Petra
• Rocks and temples, Petra
• Pepsi at Petra
• Petra lunch
• not titled [two camels and a road leading off to the horizon]
• Petra Amman
• Petra to Amman 4pm
• Spectators at a play in the Roman theatre Jericho Jordan
• View from hotel window. Baghdad still standing from Al Rasheed Hotel.
• Power lines melted, Conference Centre, Conference Centre, Breakdown Amman Baghdad Highway, Breakfast A Kurdish leader and 'Blaming themselves'
• Euphrates dessert heat and view from the Raleitumas Hotel
• Chemist of Baghdad
• Sketch Book Gulf War
• not titled [rough sketch of buildings and women]
• not titled [rough sketch of figures a Toyota truck and a bombed bridge]
• Road to Najaf and Kerbala
• Old woman at Najaf
• Soldiers Najaf
• [three individual drawings ] Karbala, Bridge, S& G Karbala
• Najaf
• Karbala, the Mosque is terribly battered. Not many people
• Karbala
• Baghdad
• Baghdad
• Communications centre
• The shelter
• The shelter
• New shelter
• Bombed tower
• The bridge crossed
• Al-Fallugah market
• Anger in Fallujah markets / No photographs Fallujah markets
• Street in Baghdad
• Baptism wedding
• Karbala
• Mother Theresa Mass
• Mother Theresa, Anne at Ministry, Baghdad bridge
• Dogs
• The broken road bridge on way to Karbala
• Bombed homes Baghdad; Children playing in a cage, dogs, B. Brady and hot sun in Baghdad; every night the wedding
• Conference centre roof bombed
• Houses Baghdad
• Ministry of Justice
• Houses Baghdad
• not titled [sketch of danged bridges with tank in foreground]
• River dogs; not titled [face of man lower left with a street of damaged buildings in back ground]
• Baghdad
• Baghdad
• 5.30am Sunrise Road Al-Basrah; Journey to Al-Basrah from Baghdad; Buildings and bridge near
• TV station Al-Basrah
• not titled [sketch of tank]
• Shelled hospital
• Destroyed homes Suburbia St Al Basrah
• Destroyed (Bombed) houses Basrah
• Hotel room Basrah
• Bridge - Basrah to Safwan
• Basrah to Safwan
• Basrah
• Bombed TV station Al Basrah
• Wrecked TV station Basrah
• Bombed bridge / Road to Safwan from Basrah
• Hospital Safwan American Occupation and [illeg] were Australian gym / trees + self
• Basrah to Safwan bombed bridge
• Self and rusting tank
• Bombed homes and cars Al-Basrah
• Sketch Book Gulf War
• House bombed Basrah and angry man
• Basrah bombed st [street]
• At the end of the street a Pepsi factory
• Fishing
• Basrah
• Bombed crater on grounds of Basrah teachers hospital and slight damage in hospital.
• Tanks and broken bridge
• Bombed 14th July bridge, angry guards and the Tigris
• Bombed building Baghdad
• Figures in a bombed st [street] Christian area Baghdad
• Baghdad street dogs and people
• Empty bombed square Najaf
• Main Street Najaf
• not titled [figure and abstract buildings]
• not titled [10 sketchs of people]
• not titled [Rear view of guard looking out a window]
• not titled [5 individual sketchs]
• not titled [Mosque at Karbala with soldiers; road from Baghdad to Karbala]
• not titled [6 inividual sketches realting to the brigde bombed on the 14 July]
• not titled [bombed bridge]
• not titled [panorama of Baghdad with Tigris river]
• Amiriyah shelter bombing
• Al-Amiriyah shelter visited 26/6/91
• not titled [Inside the shelter Amiriyah]
• Ministry of Justice opposite chemist
• not titled [sketch of a bus with people lining up to get on]
• Anger in Fallujah markets / No photographs Fallujah markets