The First Wounded in London Hospital, August, 1914. Sir John Lavery RA RSA RHA (1856–1941). 1915. Oil on canvas. 1915. 175.6 x 200.7 cm. Collection: The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum. Accesssion No. 2-1916. Lavery had joined the Artists' Rifles, but his age and health counted against him, and he was not considered fit enough to go to the front. Since he was, as Nuala Johnson puts it, "restricted to home-front duty" (161), he concentrated on conditions at home. As an official war artist, he produced some moving paintings about the war's effects; prints of this painting were used for fund-raising. Note that the nurse is attending a patient who is wearing a kilt.
On the right is the engraving as it appeared in the International Studio at the time, with the shorter title, "Wounded, London Hospital, 1915" (which however makes it clear that the ward was in The London Hospital in Whitechapel). Added below are the words: "Copyright donated to the London Hospital, proofs in photogravure in aid of the hospital are published by the Fine Art Society, 148 New Bond Street, London W" (following p.29).
Special thanks to Dr. Jane Lomax-Smith for recognising the hospital setting when the painting was posted on Twitter. Photograph and image capture, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and the McManus, or the Hathi Trust source, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
The First Wounded in London Hospital, August, 1914. The McManus. Web. 3 November 2016.
Johnson, Nuala C. "In the Shadow of Centenaries: Irish Artists Go to War." Memory, Place and Identity: Commemoration and Remembrance of War and Conflict. Ed. Danielle Drozdzewski et al. London: Routledge, 2016. 146-166.
International Studio, Vol. 56 (July-Oct. 1915): 38. Hathi Trust, contributed by the University of Michigan. Web, 12 August 2019.
Last modified 12 August 2019