Illustrator Correspondents at the Siege of Antwerp

View of the Antwerp Skyline During a Nighttime Bombardment

By Tony Langley

These drawings of the Antwerp siege on the left were produced by H.C. Seppings-Wright, a former British naval officer, who had been sketching war scenes since the end of the 19th century. He was an old Boer War hand and quite experienced at war and illustrating. Seppings-Wright's field drawings were so accomplished and detail-filled that they were often published "as is" by periodicals.

British Troops in Makeshift Trenches in Lier, During the Fight Along the Nethe Line

Newspapers and magazines of the period supplemented photography with action drawings that better
captured the panoramic scale of the battlefield while allowing the artist to highlight important details. Typically, these working drawings made by "illustrator-correspondents" were forwarded to the main office and there made more "artsy" by the in-house staff and then published fairly promptly.  Below is such a finished work submitted by correspondent Buck P. Richie.

Final Evacuation of Antwerp Across the Scheldt