The British War Memorials Committee was a British Government body that throughout 1918 was responsible for the commissioning of artworks to create a memorial to the

First World War 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 Committee was formed in February 1918 when the Department of Information, which had been responsible for war-time propaganda and also operated a war artists scheme, became the Ministry of Information with

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

as its Minister. Beaverbrook had been running, from London, the Canadian Government's scheme to commission contemporary art during the First World War and believed Britain would benefit from a similar project. Beaverbrook wanted the British War Memorials Committee to change the direction of Government-sponsored art away from propaganda of short-term value only during the conflict to a collection with a much longer lasting national value.

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

, alongside Beaverbrook, was the driving force behind the BWMC and was instrumental in ensuring young artists, including those seen as

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

, were commissioned by the Committee over older British artists, many of whom were associated with the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Membership

The original members of the Committee were, :::*

Lord Rothermere Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the county of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a baronet, of Horsey in th ...

, Chair of the BWMC, :::* Alfred Yockney, former editor of

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

and Secretary of the BWMC, :::*

, :::*

, :::* Paul G. Konody, art critic, :::*

Charles Masterman Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman PC (24 October 1873 – 17 November 1927) was a British radical Liberal Party politician, intellectual and man of letters. He worked closely with such Liberal leaders as David Lloyd George and Winston Church ...

, :::*

Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone (23 March 1876 – 21 October 1953) was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars. A ...

, artist member, :::*

Robbie Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian ...

, art advisor, :::*

Campbell Dodgson Campbell Dodgson, CBE DLitt Hon RE (13 August 1867 – 11 July 1948) was a British art historian and museum curator. He was the Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum in 1912–32. Biography Student Campbell Dodgson was the eight ...

, art advisor, :::*

Thomas Derrick Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased kno ...

, art advisor, Also

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

and

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher. He was one of the first British arti ...

also acted as advisors to the Committee.

Operations

Robert Ross suggested that by ensuring the artists worked to a set of standard size canvases they would produce pictures with a unified identity that would be appropriate for a national memorial. Ross suggested two sizes, 120 by 144 inches based on

The Surrender of Breda ''La rendición de Breda'' (English: ''The Surrender of Breda'', also known as ''Las lanzas'' – ''The Lances'') is a painting by the Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velázquez. It was completed during the years 1634–35, inspired by Velázque ...

by Velasquez and 72 by 125 inches, the size of

The Battle of San Romano ''The Battle of San Romano'' is a set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello depicting events that took place at the Battle of San Romano between Florentine and Sienese forces in 1432. They are significant as revealing the ...

Paolo Uccello Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italians, Italian (Florentine) Florentine painting, painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. ...

. Smaller pictures would also be commissioned and an alternative large size, of 72 by 86 inches would be acceptable. In addition, four 'super-pictures' of 20 feet long by 7 feet high were to be commissioned on the theme of cooperation between Britain and its allies. The paintings were to be housed in a national

Hall of Remembrance The Hall of Remembrance was a series of paintings and sculptures commissioned, in 1918, by the British War Memorials Committee of the British Ministry of Information in commemoration of the dead of World War I. History The artworks commissi ...

which would be built in London. The architect

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

was recalled from France, where he was working for the

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

, to design the building. Muirhead Bone described the structure, which was never built, as a "kind of Pavilion", surrounded by a garden, with a main gallery leading to an oratory with a dedication to the "coming Brotherhood of Man for which we all pray." The BWMC operated three separate schemes, with different terms and conditions, for artists depending on the scale and quantity of work they were expected to produce. *Scheme One, or the Memorial scheme, was for the production of a single large piece for the central gallery of the Hall of Remembrance for which the artist would be paid £600 for a 20 foot by 7 foot 'super-picture' or £300 for a 72 by 125 or 72 by 86 inch canvas. Smaller works would be bought for £150. Artists on Scheme One contracts included

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

, Charles Holmes,

Walter Bayes Walter John Bayes (31 May 1869 – 21 January 1956) was an English painter and illustrator who was a founder member of both the Camden Town Group and the London Group and also a renowned art teacher and critic. Biography Early life Bayes was bo ...

Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...

George Clausen Sir George Clausen (18 April 1852 – 22 November 1944) was a British artist working in oil and watercolour, etching, mezzotint, dry point and occasionally lithographs. He was knighted in 1927. Biography George Clausen was born at 8 William S ...

and

. *Scheme Two was designed for younger artists who would be paid £300 per annum, plus any military pay they were receiving, in return for which they would turn over their entire output for six months. During this time they would be allowed no outside work at all, including teaching, but were expected to include one piece in the 'memorial' sizes. Artists on Scheme Two included Paul Nash, John Nash,

Colin Gill Colin Unwin Gill (12 May 1892 – 16 November 1940) was an English artist who painted murals and portraits and is most notable for the work he produced as a war artist during the First World War. Biography Early life Colin Gill was born at ...

Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, Ukraine, where his fathe ...

, William Roberts and

Henry Rushbury Sir Henry George Rushbury (28 October 1889 – 5 July 1968) was an English painter and etcher. Born the son of a clerk in Harborne, then on the outskirts of Birmingham, Rushbury studied on a scholarship under Robert Catterson Smith at the Birm ...

. The artists who had previously been working for the Department of Information war artist scheme, such as

James McBey James McBey (23 December 1883 – 1 December 1959) was a largely self-taught artist and etcher whose prints were highly valued during the later stages of the etching revival in the early 20th century. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Lett ...

and

, were also accommodated under this arrangement. The most prolific of the Scheme Two artists was

John Laviers Wheatley John Laviers Wheatley (23 January 1892 – 17 November 1955) was a British painter, art teacher and museum director who also served as a war artist in both World War I and in World War II. Biography Wheatley was born in Abergavenny in Wale ...

who produced some 40 images of Naval subjects.

Christopher Nevinson Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (13 August 1889 – 7 October 1946) was an English figure and landscape painter, etcher and lithographer, who was one of the most famous war artists of World War I. He is often referred to by his initial ...

, was offered a Scheme Two contract but refused and eventually agreed to terms closer to that of Scheme One. *Scheme Three gave the BWMC the first option to purchase work in return for facilities and access and was used by JD Fergusson,

Frank Dobson Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 ...

and

William Rothenstein Sir William Rothenstein (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Emerging during the early 1890s, Rothenstein continued to make art right up until his death. Though he c ...

. In March 1918 the BWMC submitted a request to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

seeking the release from front-line service of 16 artists. The War Office refused permission for

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

and

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

to be released, and by the time the Army had processed the requests for

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small ...

and

Darsie Japp Darsie Napier Japp MC (17 February 1883 – 1973) was an English painter and soldier. Japp was born in Liverpool and attended St John's College of the University of Oxford. After he graduated, he worked in the offices of his father's shipping ...

the war was almost over. Although Muirhead Bone suggested nineteen well-known, modern women artists, including

Dora Carrington Dora de Houghton Carrington (29 March 1893 – 11 March 1932), known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton ...

and

Orovida Pissarro Orovida Pissarro (8 October 1893 – 8 August 1968), known for most of her life as Orovida, was a British painter and etcher. For most of her career she distanced herself from the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist styles of her father, Luc ...

for commissions, the BWMC ignored his advice and only recruited three women artists,

Anna Airy Anna Airy (6 June 1882 – 23 October 1964) was an English oil painter, pastel artist and etcher. She was one of the first women officially commissioned as a war artist and was recognised as one of the leading women artists of her generation. ...

Dorothy Coke Dorothy Josephine Coke (11 April 1897 – 1979) was an English artist notable for her work as a war artist on the British home front during the Second World War. Coke was also an art teacher and as an artist was known for her watercolours, whic ...

and

Flora Lion Flora Marguerite Lion (3 December 1878 – 15 May 1958) was an English portrait painter. Lion had a long and successful career and was known for her portraits of society figures, landscapes and murals. Early life Flora Lion was born in Lon ...

but did not acquire any paintings from them. A number of pacifists and

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

s were approached. Both

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

and Mark Gertler agreed to work for the Committee but the latter was refused permission by the body supervising conscientious objectors.

Harold Knight Harold Knight (27 January 1874 – 3 October 1961) was an English portrait, genre and landscape painter. Knight was born in Nottingham, England, the son of William Knight, architect, and studied at Nottingham School of Art under Wilson Foste ...

refused to do any work that could be used as propaganda.

Demise

The BWMC was not without its opponents; many in the Treasury believed that the Government should not be acting as a patron of the arts and the newly formed

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

considered much of what the Committee was doing as part of their remitt. As a peer and a newspaper owner, Beaverbrook himself attracted controversy. Beaverbrook's rival newspapers attacked the workings of the Committee and

in particular. Towards the end of the war the British government gave permission for the proceeds from any BWMC exhibitions to be donated to war charities. Beaverbrook had already, without informing the Government, registered the title "British War Memorials Fund" as just such a private charity. The Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Information, R W Needham, objected that Beaverbrook had no right to generate income for a private charity by exhibiting Government funded artworks and that the artists involved had all worked for reduced fees in the national interest. If Beaverbrook wanted the BWMC to continue beyond the war as a private charity then it would have to become independent of the Ministry and then appeal directly to the public for funds. Beaverbrook abandoned the scheme and the war art collection was brought under the direct control of a new "Pictorial Propaganda Committee" within the Ministry. The Pictorial Propaganda Committee first met on the 24 July 1918 and quickly decided to abandon both the sculpture commissions and the Hall of Remembrance but to maintain the existing painting commissions and to designate the Imperial War Museum, IWM, as the future, permanent, home of the collection. In January 1919, the Secretary of the BWMC, Alfred Yockney joined the IWM to oversee the transition.

Legacy

The BWMC left an artistic legacy that included some of the best art to be produced during World War I. This included the seventeen large paintings intended for the Hall of Remembrance, which included ''Gassed'' by

and '' The Menin Road'' by Paul Nash, plus two large sculpture reliefs by

Charles Sargeant Jagger Charles Sargeant Jagger (17 December 1885 – 16 November 1934) was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war. He is best known for his war memorials, especially the Royal A ...

and

Gilbert Ledward Gilbert Ledward (23 January 1888 – 21 June 1960), was an English sculptor. He won the British Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1913, and in World War I served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and later as a war artist. He was professor of s ...

and smaller canvases produced by a total of thirty-one artists. The structure and methods used by the BWMC provided the model on which

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...

based the, much larger,

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

during the Second World War.

References

{{World War I . 1918 in the United Kingdom Cultural history of World War I Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1918 Organizations disestablished in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom 1918 disestablishments in the United Kingdom United Kingdom in World War I