Accession Number | ART03605.001 |
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Collection type | Art |
Measurement | Overall: 48.3 x 76 cm; sheet: 22 x 22.5 cm |
Object type | Work on paper |
Physical description | watercolour and pencil on paper |
Date made | 1914 - 1918 |
Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Not titled [Dustcover for scrapbook]
Dust cover for scrapbook, depicting a war artist (likely to be Benson himself) in uniform sitting in what looks like a bomb crater, sketching a wounded or dead soldier on a drawing pad. The nonchalance of the artist pictured is amplified by the cigarette in his mouth, as one hand draws while the other supports his sketch pad. The artist's colour patch is visible on his left arm, that of the 4th Division Artillery. The wounded German soldier wears a faded blue uniform, his steel helmet lain beside him. Blood seeps from the bayonet rifle still in his chest. He lifts his head and gawks at the artist, tears roll down the side of his cheek almost in disbelief at the artist's detachment. The terrain around the two is brown and muddy suggesting the illustration depicts the Western Front.