Ella Condie Lamb: "The War Bride"

"The War Bride" by Ella Condie Lamb

"The loneliness of the months to follow I dread. I must live from day to day, from letter to letter, work and dream of the future when this bitter war is finished - when the world is free. God keep them, and all sons, in His Hand. And I must work, work, work..."

Ella Condie Lamb wrote these words in her diary in 1917. On April 6, 1917, the United States had declared war on Germany, officially entering World War I, and soon afterwards their son Karl was sent to France as a captain in the Gas Defense section of the Chemical Warfare division; Donald was training to be a pilot in California, and Condie had joined the Navy and was in training at Cornell.

Ella and Charles were experiencing the intense, anxious life of parents whose family was disrupted and disoriented by war. Her letters to Karl describe her worries and feelings of dread, telling her eldest son all that was in her heart and all that was taking place at home, including the shock of seeing the returning wounded soldiers, often crippled and sometimes blind. She wrote to one of her sons every day. She wanted to be cheerful, but could not keep silent about the tragic deaths of the sons of friends and the crippling of many young men.

Her personal revolt against war's glamorization took the form of an allegorical painting, described in "Art and Archeology:"

'There was issued from Washington the request to all American Artists to give visible expression to the cause for which American troops were sent to fight overseas. The invitation was received by Mrs. Lamb in her New York studio and accepted seriously because her three sons had entered the service. 

To Mrs. Lamb, therefore, the thought of what war meant to the sacrifice of the family, took the form of 'The War Bride,' who, with the baby the young father overseas had never seen, looks away from the morning paper which rests on her knees, and wonders whether the father will ever come back to see his child. Her wonderment takes the form of a vision of the father in his uniform, with the figure of nation personified behind him and pointing to the crucifix which hangs on the wall behind the bed, as emblematic of the possible sacrifice which must be made on the part of many to realize the hope of the freedom of the world.'

Her painting was exhibited on Fifth Avenue for the Liberty Loan Drive in the windows of Marcus Jewelers, where it 'was the whole thing.' and then at Macbeth's Gallery. People felt that it was 'very impressive and beautiful, the kind of thing that has large and universal significance.'

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Ella's Certain Window" by Barea Lamb Seeley.)