We are now a few months in to 2014 and the National Portrait Gallery has opened London’s first major exhibition for the Centenary of the First World War. With many more sure to come, particularly in the autumn, the Ministry ponders the museumification of conflict and war as a blockbuster.
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| Torso in Metal from 'The Rock Drill' by Sir Jacob Epstein, 1913 – 14. Tate. |
It seems everyone is planning their First World War
exhibition to open over the next few months. It's one hundred years since the
beginning of the conflict that arguably shaped modern life as we know it.
Museums are physical repositories of history, so surely it is their job to
serve as sites of remembrance for major events? And yet, the scramble to put on
the biggest and best First World War show seems somehow insensitive. Museum
stores are trawled for early twentieth century objects, curators sweating
over whether this or that is really from the right era or really from the 1930s.
How can our collections be a part of the Centenary? The pitfalls of
commemorative exhibitions are well known: glorification rather than critical
consideration, forcing your collection to fit a narrative that’s just not
there, originality swapped for public appeal. It would be easy to celebrate the heroic and the tragic while forgetting the human story. Is it even possible to strike the right balance between respect, historical accuracy, originality and national pride?
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| Reproduction German poster, copyright Imperial War Museum |
But fear not, the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition does
an excellent job of presenting a critical view of the First World War that fits
well within the remit of it’s collections. Nothing about the Great War in
Portraits feels forced. Indeed, the curatorial teams have managed to use the
conflict as an opportunity to really question the entire idea of portraiture
itself. The exhibition is laid out chronologically, and while this might seem
like not a particularly original approach, what it does is show the rapid
descent of portrait art from celebratory to critical. The first room is full of
royals in their regalia- a stoic reminder of the way conflict had always been
fought up to this point. By the time you move into the second room, it becomes
clear that the Great War wasn’t what anyone had expected. Commissioned
portraits of famous generals and valiant troops, fade quickly into the
challenging works of Christopher Nevinson and other artists sent to the Front. The
average military portrait we are so used to seeing suddenly takes on the darker
tones of propaganda when displayed next to the suffering of the troops they are
commanding.
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| The Valiant and Damned, copyright the National Portrait Gallery |
One of the most interesting features of the exhibition is
the wall of photographs titled, ‘the Valiant and the Damned’. The wall-sized collage
seems a little jarring against the rooms of traditional paintings particularly
when photography hasn’t featured in the rest of the exhibition. However, the
display serves both to integrate the Gallery’s substantial photographic
archive, as well as to try and incorporate something of the human voice into
the exhibition. The photographs are accompanied by a booklet in which you can
read more about each sitter’s experience of the First World War. Finally it’s
not just commissioned artists and generals represented but soldiers,
contentious objectors, doctors, nurses and poets. The individual voice is
something museums are going to be focused on quite heavily in the next round of
exhibitions. We like the NPG’s idea, although it works much better as a website
interactive than a static gallery display.
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| Gassed and Wounded by Eric Kennington, copyright Imperial War Museum |
The largest central room is by far the most poignant. Themed
around medical treatment in the War, the paintings by William Orpen and Eric
Kennington turn increasingly dark as they were experiencing the atrocities of
war. Doctors and surgeons are well representing, struggling to cope with a new
mechanized warfare producing injuries never before seen. Henry Tonk’s pastels
of facial injuries shown alongside case notes are a particular draw. The pained
faces of the wounded in these images seem to morph naturally into the
Expressionist works of Kitchener. I can’t recall seeing an exhibition that ties
the development of art history so well into political and human circumstance.
Other museums take note- the NPG has set the bar high for
First World War remembrance. There is no ounce of glorification to be found in
the displays. In fact, you walk away not being able to look at traditional
military portraits quite in the same way. The Centenary of the War should be an
opportunity to rethink your own collections, rather than cashing in on public
interest. With some of the most famous Great War portraits all in one place,
the NPG provides big names without compromising on its critical perspective.
