ARTWORKS

The Eve of the Battle of the Somme

Herbert James Gunn (1893–1964)

The Fleming Collection

The Eve of the Battle of the Somme

© estate of the artist. Image credit: The Fleming Collection

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'The Eve of the Battle of the Somme', with its poignant images of doomed youth at rest and play and its unmistakable Christian references, is the pictorial equivalent of some of the great poems written by young British servicemen in the First World War. In 1915 Gunn enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles and in 1916 was stationed in northern France where he briefly had a studio in the barracks.

The Fleming Collection

London

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Title

The Eve of the Battle of the Somme

Date

1916

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 83.8 x W 91.4 cm

Accession number

FWAF/RF919

Work type

Painting

Signature/marks description

bottom right: H Gunn / France 1916

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The Fleming Collection

14 Buckingham Street, London, Greater London WC2N 6DF England

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Artist or maker

Herbert James Gunn

1893–1964

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