British official war artists

British official war artists were a select group of artists who were employed on contract, or commissioned to produce specific works during the First World War, the Second World War and select military actions in the post-war period. Official war artists have been appointed by governments for information or propaganda purposes and to record events on the battlefield; but there are many other types of war artist.

A war artist will have depicted some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how war shapes lives. A war artist creates a visual account of war by showing its impact as men and women are shown waiting, preparing, fighting, suffering, celebrating,

The works produced by war artists illustrate and record many aspects of war, and the individual's experience of war, whether allied or enemy, service or civilian, military or political, social or cultural. The rôle of the artist and his work embraces the causes, course and consequences of conflict and it has an essentially educational purpose.

First World War
The British Expeditionary Forces in Europe included artists whose work was exhibited at the Imperial War Museum after the end of hostilities.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Charles Masterman, head of the British War Propaganda Bureau and acting on the advice of William Rothenstein, appointed Muirhead Bone as Britain's first official war artist in May 1916. After Bone returned to England he was replaced by his brother-in-law, Francis Dodd, who had been working for the Manchester Guardian. In 1917 arrangements were made to send other artists to France including Eric Kennington, William Orpen, Paul Nash, Christopher R. W. Nevinson and William Rothenstein. John Lavery was recruited to paint pictures of the home front. Nash later complained about the strict control maintained by the Bureau over the official subject matter, saying "I am no longer an artist interested and curious, I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on for ever. Feeble, inarticulate, will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth, and may it burn their lousy souls."

Second World War
The British War Advisory Scheme (WAS) was administered by the War Artists' Advisory Committee (WAAC) of the Ministry of Information. The project was devised by Kenneth Clark, Director of the National Gallery. He was the WAAC chair and is credited with having established the WAS.

There was a general appreciation of the need to develop what "the camera cannot interpret." The government recognized that "a war so epic in its scope by land, sea and air, and so detailed and complex in its mechanism, requires interpreting [by artists] as well as recording."

First World War

 * Anna Airy, (1882–1964)
 * David Bomberg, 1890–1957).
 * Muirhead Bone, 1876–1953.
 * Frank Brangwyn, 1867–1956.
 * George Clausen, 1852–1944.
 * Olive Edis, 1876–1955.
 * Adrian Hill, 1895–1977.
 * Francis Ernest Jackson, 1872–1945
 * Augustus John, 1878–1961.
 * Eric Kennington RA, 1888–1960.
 * Wyndham Lewis, 1882–1957.
 * John Hodgson Lobley, 1878-1954.
 * Fortunino Matania
 * John Nash, 1893–1977.
 * Paul Nash, 1889–1946.
 * Christopher Nevinson
 * Herbert Arnould Olivier, 1861-1952.
 * Sir William Orpen RA, 1878–1931;
 * William Rothenstein, 1872–1945.
 * Austin Spare, 1886–1956.
 * Gerald Spencer Pryse, 1882–1956.
 * Snaffles (Charles Johnson Payne)
 * Leonard Campbell Taylor, 1874–1969

Second World War

 * Edward Ardizzone CBE RA, 1900–1979.
 * Edward Bawden RA, 1903–1989.
 * Stephen Bone 1904-1958
 * Henry Carr RA, 1894–1970.
 * Leslie Cole, 1910-1976
 * Charles Cundall, 1890-1971
 * Evelyn Mary Dunbar
 * Simon Elwes, 1902–1975
 * Barnett Freedman
 * Ethel Gabain, 1882–1950.
 * Charles Ginner
 * Duncan Grant, 1885–1978.
 * Thomas Hennell, 1903–1945
 * Eliot Hodgkin, 1905–1987
 * Eric Kennington (also a war artist in World War I)
 * Mary Kessell, 1914–1977.
 * Laura Knight DBE RA, 1877–1970.
 * L.S. Lowry
 * Henry Moore
 * James Morris
 * Paul Nash, 1889–1946.
 * Cuthbert Orde, 1888–1968
 * Mervyn Peake, 1911–1968.
 * John Piper
 * Roland Vivian Pitchforth, 1895–1982
 * Eric Ravilious, 1903–1942.
 * Albert Richards, 1919-1945
 * Leonard Rosoman RA, 1913–2012
 * William Rothenstein (also a war artist in World War I)
 * Alan Sorrell, 1904–1974.
 * Ruskin Spear RA, 1911–1990.
 * Stanley Spencer, 1891-1959.
 * Graham Sutherland OM, 1903–1980.
 * Carel Weight CBE RA, 1908–1997,
 * Frank Wootton, 1914–1998
 * Doris Clare Zinkeisen, 1898–1991.
 * Anna Katrina Zinkeisen, 1901–1976



Recent conflicts

 * Peter Howson, b. 1958
 * John Keane, b. 1954
 * Linda Kitson, b. 1945
 * David Rowlands: Military painter, only artist invited by the British Army to take part of Operation Granby.
 * Derek Eland: b.1961 (Afghanistan 2011)