A look into how art and war has influenced each other through the years

“He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.”

―Sun Tzu, The Art of War

War artists are artists whose work depict times of war and the events surrounding it. Artists were employed—some by governments, by publications, and some, out of their own accord—to illustrate and record the war, its actions and consequences, as they saw it. Some artists were official military men, present in the thick of battle; some were government-appointed propagandists, and some were mere civilians, just trying to live through the fact of war. And each of their work provided a uniquely powerful lens by which we view history today. 

Here is a glimpse into the oft tumultuous yet interdependent relationship—not unlike a volatile marriage—between war and art.

Art was utilized to promote the war and its recruitment efforts, and to great effect. 

In 1914, Alfred Leete, an illustrator for an advertising agency, designed what would turn out to be one of the most popular war posters of all time. What is now known as the “Lord Kitchener Wants You” poster was first designed for the cover of the Sept. 5, 1914 issue of the London Opinion, a popular weekly magazine, as a recruitment advertisement. It depicted Lord Kitchener, the U.K.’s Secretary State for War and renowned war veteran, pointing directly at the reader, with the words “Your Country Needs YOU” below. A poster version was released soon after, using the same drawing of Lord Kitchener, but with the words “BRITONS, (Lord Kitchener) Wants YOU. Join Your Country’s Army!” In the same month, the British Army saw its highest number of volunteers enlisted.

Whether it was a coincidence or a direct effect did not seem to matter, as his image continued to be popular in recruitment campaigns. Lord Kitchener was a strategic choice to use for the advertisements, not only because he was a well-loved and well-decorated figure of the war, but also because his appearance was favorable: he was tall and muscular, and he had a unique mustache that was recognizable. He became a hero figure of the war and people viewed the war positively with his image, reminiscent of using a popular celebrity for product and event endorsements today.

The poster has endured to become an iconic image of war, inspiring a legion of recreations. One such recreation is the hugely popular American version by James Montgomery Flagg, depicting a stern Uncle Sam dressed in overwhelmingly patriotic garb, similarly pointing and saying, “I Want YOU for the US Army.” The poster was so popular that they printed four million copies of it from 1917-1918, and it is still the image that we associate with Uncle Sam to this day.

These images are so iconic that they are still present in our pop culture. In the movie Captain America: The First Avenger, a recreation of Flagg’s poster depicts Captain America, himself a symbol of patriotism, encouraging support for the war effort. 

Advertising efforts for recruitment such as these were generally successful in bringing millions of men into the armies. Thomas Russell, an advertising expert, said in 1919 that without this “advertising of a highly modern kind …it is certain that the thousands of millions sterling, the hundreds of thousands of workers – the voluntary army…could not have been obtained.”

Posters depicting victorious personifications of nations standing proudly over demonic versions of their enemies were also hugely popular to boost morale and to encourage continued support from the masses. But on the other side of the coin, many war artists were also greatly opposed to the war, and art itself has been used to recover from the aftermath of war. 

Pablo Picasso, one of the most prolific and well-known artists of the 20th century, was one such artist. Arguably Picasso’s most famous work, the Guernica was a direct response to the Nazi bombing and devastation of the Spanish town of Guernica. It depicted the tragedy and suffering that war inflicts upon the innocent, in a somber black, white and gray. After its debut, it was toured around the world, and the profits were used to raise funds for the Spanish war relief. The Guernica has since become a popular anti-war symbol. 

While war is singularly the most potent and destructive force mankind has known, it would not be what it is today without the art of its time that lets us perceive the war through the eyes and scars of those who lived it. And conversely, art—like mankind—is also transformed forever because of war.

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Illustration / Designer: Cara Mejia-Valdez
Campaign Strategist: Margaret Cantos
Writer: Chris Ignacio