Description
Depicts a Colonel from the 17th FC AE riding through a desolate and dry terrain. A biplane hovers in the upper left corner, and crows fly in the upper right corner. The officer is riding a piebald horse towards a sign which says 'TO FRANCE'; he is urging the horse forwards by dangling a carrot on a stick. Attached to the horse's tail by a string is an anchor. In the foreground is a rooster being chased by a fox terrier dog. The number '17' is written on the saddle blanket. The colonel is wearing an 'A' patch (meaning 'Anzac') on his shoulder. Only men who had been at Gallipoli as support troops could bear this patch.
The engineer is a recurring character in this series. Bespectacled and bearing a look of smooth arrogance on his face, it is possible he is the artist's direct commanding officer.
The 17th FC, which was the company the artist was in, was composed of men from other units of engineers and had the nickname "The Fragments of France".
Details
Accession Number
ART90486
Object Type
Work on paper
Physical Description
Medium: pen and ink over pencil on paper
Measurement
Sheet: 21 x 27.7 cm
Medium
pen and ink over pencil on paper
Credit Line
Acquired 1996
Copyright
Copyright expired - public domain
Conflicts
Units
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