At the start of the First World War there were no officially recorded war artists in Australia. It wasn’t until 1917 at the request and advice of John Treloar and Charles Bean that the Australian government recognised the need for and establish the Official War Art Scheme based on a similar structure of the British and Canadian governments.
The first official war artist to be documented in the War Art Scheme was William Dyson, an Australian Artist living in London at the time of the First World War. Dyson himself petitioned the Australian Government to allow him to travel with the …show more content…
However they kept up their attempts to have their work recognised and recorded in the Official war Records Section. These artists included; Isobel Rae, Dora Meeson Coates, Evelyn Chapman, Hilda Rix Nicholas, Vida Lahey and Dora Ohlfsen. The work that female artists created was diverse in capturing a range of different subjects and scenes from behind the lines, ranging from documenting the life at the camps to women working in factories to depicting personal stories of families of …show more content…
She primarily draws using pastels on a variety of different paper textures. Her drawings offer a different view of the traditional male war paintings as she was not actually present on the battlefield she was able to show a different view of the war to Australia. Her paintings depicted scenes of the ‘everyday’ events behind the lines; the continual preparation for battle, caring for the wounded, the entertainment keeping the soldiers entertained, football games, theatre and films. Rates work is drawn in a neat, calm and organised manner. She draws the soldiers in neat groups and the hospitals and tents in a patterned controlled way. For her night scenes she uses gouache highlights creating a red glow to create mystery in the picture. Rae’s work is quite lively in nature and show a different glimpse at the life the soldiers behind the