''Anzac, the Landing 1915'' is a painting by Australian artist George Washington Lambert, composed between 1920 and 1922. The painting depicts the landing at Anzac Cove by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps on 25 April 1915 during the Gallipoli Campaign during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The painting is part of the collections of the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

and "an active agent in promulgating one of Australia’s most dominant and enduring memories – that of the Gallipoli campaign."

Composition

The painting shows "Australian troops ascending ridge to Plugge's Plateau,

The Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a legendary creature, mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of ...

, Walker's Ridge and Baby 700 on skyline, steep, rocky hillside at Gallipoli". The painting has a viewing arc of around 240°, greater than the human eye can see in a single glance. It also shows various groups of soldiers landing, climbing and cresting the ridges simultaneously. Lambert felt this distortion of space and time necessary to show the entire story of the landing, balancing the need to interpret the landing in a moment with the requirement to be accurate and maintain the public trust that his painting was a reliable record of events. Lambert also took artistic licence in other matters, notably showing all Australian troops in

slouch hats A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the ...

rather than portraying some in caps, which were worn on the day.

Reception

The painting was commissioned in 1919 for £500 by the Australian High Commission in London, as part of an official war art scheme. Lambert started work on London and completed the work in 1922. It was unveiled on

ANZAC Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

(25 April) 1922 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The work was immediately popular with over 14,000 viewers in the first week of exhibition and over 770,000 by the time the exhibition closed in 1924. Painter and critic Alexander Colquhoun in a contemporary review stated Lambert's work showed "rare dramatic and artistic skill" and "speaks ... of a declaration of sacrifice and achievement in a way that no other war picture has done".

References

{{George Washington Lambert Paintings by George Washington Lambert 1922 paintings War paintings Works about the Gallipoli campaign Collections of the Australian War Memorial