The Great War in portraits

Disappointing exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of portraits from World War I.

I only say disappointing because this exhibition should have been so much bigger! What there was was well thought out and created some interesting dialogues between works but why give it only 4 small rooms. This is a national event and to me one of the most interesting aspects is the art it inspired and how it changed art. There is no way any curator could have done the subject full justice in four rooms. Why did the David Bailey get the whole of the rest of the floor? Yes I know economics as it’s a popular blockbuster and I guess it pays for this free show.

As I say what was there was fantastic. I liked the room of generals and ordinary solders with them taking opposing walls. I loved the fact they had some of the Tonks pictures of disfigured soldiers and that these were shown with some of the photos from the Sidcup hospital. I liked the idea of having a display of postcards and that they covered all countries and the sentimental as well as the straight portrait.

I am fond of William Orpen but thought he was over represented here. It felt like every third picture was by him and yet we didn’t get a Kennington, who is the best artist of the ordinary soldier, until the third room.

With such a small space I think I might have been more focused on portraits not just pictures of people. Much as I liked the dead stretcher bearer and the Nevinson of the machine gunners maybe they could have been replaced by more pictures of real rather than generic people. Also again I loved the idea of the wall of faces but space was in short supply it was a shame to fill so much of it with reproduced pictures.

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