Collection
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Title
From field dressing station to ambulance, Bullecourt
(circa 1918)
Artist
Napier Waller
Australia
19 Jun 1893 - 30 Mar 1972
About
'After the Hun's shell has fulfilled its frightful destiny, and the army medical attendant attached to the unit has done all he possibly can for his wounded comrade, the patient is placed on a stretcher, if he is unable to walk, and conveyed to the Field Dressing Station. He is then again attended to, the stretcher is placed on wheels, and he is taken to the ambulance on his way to the Casualty Clearing Station'.
Mervyn Napier Waller, 1918
This drawing is essentially a self-portrait projecting Waller's own horrific experience when he suffered life-changing injuries on 12 May 1917 during the 2nd Battle of Bullecourt, which claimed over 7000 Australian's lives.
Details
Other Title
To the Ambulance, Bullecourt
Date
(circa 1918)
Materials used
pen, brush and brown ink, watercolour, gouache on paper
Dimensions
48.0 x 31.9 cm
Signature & date
Signed l.l., brown ink "M.Napier Waller". Dated l.r., brown ink "... May 12 17.".
Credit
Purchased 1918
Location
Not on display
Accession number
5714
URL / Share
Napier Waller
From field dressing station to ambulance, Bullecourt
Shown in 4 exhibitions
Exhibition history
War sketches in black and white, watercolour and oil, Anthony Horderns' Fine Art Gallery, 03 Dec 1918 -
Project 17 - M. Napier Waller: 1893 -1972 (1977), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 May 1977–19 Jun 1977
Mad through the darkness: Australian artists and the Great War, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Apr 2015–11 Oct 2015
M.Napier Waller 1893-1972, Exhibition Venue Unknown, Unknown–Unknown
Referenced in 2 publications
Bibliography
Nicholas Draffin, M.Napier Waller 1893-1972, Sydney, 1977. cat.no. 9
Napier Waller, War sketches on the Somme Front, Melbourne, 1918, 70, 71 (illus.). titled 'To the Ambulance, Bullecourt'