The Armistice and the Aftermath: The Story in Art

Cover:  Armistice Night in Amiens,
Sir William Orpen
(Order Title HERE)

By John Fairley
Penn & Sword Military, 2018
Recommended by the Editors

As depicted on the cover of this work, Armistice Day in 1918 was arguably the most joyous day of the 20th century. As the guns fell silent, crowds celebrated across the Western world.  The Irish painter William Orpen was in Amiens. The foremost artists of all nations, including Pierre Bonnard in Paris and Gilbert Beal in New York, were also inspired to convey the emotions of the historic moment. Not all the memories of the war, though, were created in the same spirit.

An Advance Dressing Station, Henry Tonks

The tense and difficult process of making the peace ensued. Orpen and Augustus John were assigned as official artists at the Versailles Conference. Painters also recorded on canvas the extraordinary closing events of the war, including the surrender of the entire German battle fleet.  Some chose to depict the spirit of revolution that was in the air.

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge,  El Lissitzky

One hundred years on, The Armistice and the Aftermath brings together in one large-format book a superb collection  of the most epic paintings and photographs inspired by the war and its lasting influence. The result, with informed and perceptive commentary, is a unique record of those momentous days which not only re-drew the world map but, more ominously, shaped the future of the 20th century. Author and television producer John Fairley is a veteran of the Royal Navy and is now a scholar of  Queen's College, Oxford .

Commentary and cover from publisher's site. Paintings from WikiCommons. All the images here can be enlarged by clicking on them.