The Art of War

A leading art historian explores the range and diversity of art inspired by war in this moving and eye-opening art book.

The work of official war artists in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf are explored alongside the drawings and paintings of lesser-known artists and ordinary soldiers who were trenches during World War I, concentration camps of Europe, and prisoner-of-war camps of Southeast Asia. 

Artists who have been inspired by peace-keeping missions in Timor, Somalia, and Eritrea are included, as well as George Lambert's dramatic World War I battlefield panoramas, Will Dyson's political cartoons, Ray Parkin's prisoner-of-war camp sketches, and Gordon Bennett's graffiti-influenced works produced in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the U.S..

With works that inspire patriotic sentiment, record personal insights, and protest the senseless loss of human life, this compilation shows that where war has influenced art, art has also affected attitudes of war.