Yesterday, as you can imagine, the papers were full of essays, commentaries and reflections on ANZAC Day and what it means in 2009. There was a very interesting article in The Weekend Australian newspaper about the art of war. It was specifically about how Australian artists have never depicted soldiers in battle heroically but rather as ordinary people stoically perservering through "the stuff of nightmares". To illustrate this article they chose two paintings by female artists which I thought were rather lovely despite the melancholy subject matter.
The one above is by Australian artist Stella Bowen. It is called "Bomber Crew" and was painted in 1944. All the subjects were lost in action. Below is Nora Heyson's "Transport Driver" painted in 1945. Both of them hang in Canberra in the War Memorial.
You can read the article from The Australian here.
