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War Art

War Posters

Art is a powerful tool that can often reveal the deeper feelings and truth of a situation than a photograph can. Since the days of the First World War, Canada has had artists create works that capture the efforts of our soldiers, sailors, air force personnel and people on the home front as they serve and sacrifice in the cause of peace.

The men and women who took part in these Canadian war art programs explored many different elements of our country's war efforts, from battle scenes from the front lines to the labours of women in factories back home in Canada. Many of these war artists would go on to become prominent artists after the wars, from members of the Group of Seven like A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Varley after the First World War, to Alex Colville after the Second World War.

Why not check out the Canadian war art made over the past nine decades by browsing samples below? How is the war art from different eras similar? How are they sometimes different?