John Singer Sargent: War Artist

"Street in Arras" by John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent came to share Henry James' view of WWI as 'a huge horror of blackness,' and became deeply sympathetic and involved. In March, 1918, his niece Rose Marie was tragically killed in Paris by a German shell. In June, 1918, at the age of 62, he and fellow artist and friend, Professor Tonks, were asked by the British government to travel to France and paint the war. 

On arrival he stayed with the Guards Division under General Feilding who wrote: 'We were a mess of about fourteen with him and Tonks....At dinner we were all together. He was a delightful companion, and we all loved him. He used to talk the whole time, and there was always some competition to sit next to him. He took an enormous interest in everything going on. He discussed music, painting and every imaginable subject.'

Professor Tonks wrote: 'Sargent entered completely into the spirit of his surroundings. I don't think he ever grasped much about the military campaign in actual being, which is curious as he had in his library and had read with deep interest many books on the Napoleon campaigns. I could never make him understand differences of rank - no, not the most obvious, so I gave up trying. Things which seemed the commonplaces of war surprised him as when he said to General Feilding one Sunday when the Band was playing, 'I suppose there is no fighting on Sundays.' Sometimes I used to wonder if he knew how dangerous a shell might be, as he never showed the least sign of fear. He was merely annoyed if they burst sufficiently near to shake him. Whenever he was at work a little crowd would collect, and they easily found him as he invariably worked under a large white umbrella...'

'From Ballymont we went to Arras where Colonel Hastings the Town Commandant found us quarters in about the best uninjured house in the place. Here we had two or three weeks together. He did a somewhat elaborate oil painting of the ruined Cathedral and a great many watercolours of surprising skill. I never could persuade him to work in the evening when the ruined town looked so enchanting. He worked systematically morning and afternoon. One day we head that the Guards Division were advancing so we motored towards them to find material for our subjects. We knew that a number of gassed men were being taken to a dressing station on the Doullens Road, so we went there in the evening. He immediately began making  sketches and a little later asked me if I would mind his making this essentially medical subject his, and I told him I did not in the least mind. He worked hard and made a number of pencil and pen sketches which formed the basis of the oil painting known as 'Gassed' now in the War Museum.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "John Sargent" by Evan Charteris.)