Curiosity—Stories of those who report during wartime

In the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra there are 15 stained-glass windows. Each shows a figure dressed in military uniform, and under each figure is a word which describes a quality displayed by Australians during wartime. One window features an infantryman wearing a trench mortar uniform. He represents all service men and women who have gained knowledge from enquiry, symbolised by an eye in the Egyptian style from which stream rays of light.

This window bears the word Curiosity.

Note to reader: These stories relate to war and conflict. You may feel sad after reading some of them. Teachers may wish to be sensitive to students who have family members serving overseas in war zones.

  • Curiosity—Stories of those who report during wartime
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An eye for detail: George Lambert

An aged black and white image of a man in uniform sitting outdoors and sketching. The ground is bare and there are sheds in the background.

Lambert, seen here sketching in Palestine in 1918, was appointed to work as an artist with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. [AWM A04272]

What are some of the challenges faced by artists working on the war front?

George Lambert’s paintings have brought moments in the First World War to life for generations of Australians. For Lambert, who was an official war artist, it was all about capturing the details – even when painting battles he did not witness.

At the time the First World War broke out, Lambert was working as a successful artist in London. Unable to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) from overseas, he joined a British training unit until December 1917, when he was appointed as an Australian official war artist.

Lambert was sent to the Middle East with the task of producing a number of artworks, including a large painting depicting the charge of the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba. This battle was a significant Allied victory that had occurred months before Lambert arrived. Lambert met up with the Australian Light Horse in the Middle East and began by sketching the men, horses, and landscapes to assist him with completing the large painting when he returned to England. Keen ‘to get into the spirit of things’1, he rode along the routes the Australian horsemen had taken and jumped over trenches where they had mounted attacks.


George Lambert, Jack Dempsey [1918, pencil on paper, 23.4 x 17.8 cm, AWM ART02716]

Lambert had become a skilled horseman during the years he spent on sheep stations in western New South Wales. This helped him build relationships with members of the Australian Light Horse.

What were the advantages of Lambert being friendly with the troops he sketched and painted?

Lambert also produced many smaller paintings and sketches, but like most war artists, found his working conditions challenging. He faced not only the blinding heat and choking dust of the desert, but also the ‘sense of hurry caused by having to work to military schedule’.2 Lambert had been given the rank of lieutenant and was expected to follow the orders of his superiors. At times this meant packing up his materials halfway through a piece to move on to other areas. Despite the challenges he enjoyed the work, noting days after arriving in Egypt:

I am ridiculously happy. Already I have done three pieces of work and everywhere I look there are glorious pictures, magnificent men and real top-hole Australian horses.3

Lambert received a second commission after the war ended, which resulted in his most famous work. His painting of the Anzac landing at Gallipoli in 1915 hangs prominently in the Australian War Memorial.

Did you know?

Between 1914 and 1916 nearly 30,000 Australian horses were shipped to the Middle East to be used by soldiers. The horses did not return to Australia after the war because of the possibility that they could be carrying exotic diseases.

Lambert saw himself as an ‘Artist Historian’ and was acutely aware that creating an artwork to record the sacrifice of so many Australians was a huge responsibility. He travelled to Gallipoli in early 1919, determined to learn all that he could about the men’s experience so that he could convey it to the Australian public. Charles Bean, who led the visit to Gallipoli, watched Lambert as he worked to gather evidence and noted that he was ‘more sensitive than the rest of us to the tragedy – or at any rate the horror – of Anzac’.4 This sensitivity has been captured in the painting which has since been viewed by millions of Australians.

Lambert returned to Australia with his wife and children in 1921, and completed several artworks commemorating Australians who had served in the war. He continued to enjoy success as an artist until his sudden death in 1930.

George Lambert is still recognised as one of Australia’s greatest war artists a century after the First World War.

A painting depicting steep rocky hillsides with sparse vegetation and puffs of gun smoke. There are many Australian soldiers on the hill: some are dead or falling. A narrow beach with two landing boats can be seen in the lower left of the image.

George Lambert, Anzac, the landing 1915 [1920–1922, oil on canvas, size 199.8 x 370.2 cm, AWM ART02873]

Lambert spent six weeks at Gallipoli learning about the campaign and doing sketches to prepare for this painting.

What can you learn about the Anzac landing from this painting?

Fast facts: Australian war artists

The official war art scheme was initiated during the First World War, when the Australian government appointed fifteen artists to depict the experiences of Australians during the war. The war art scheme has been used in most subsequent wars and conflicts, including on recent peacekeeping missions. The artwork produced by official war artists becomes part of the Australian War Memorial’s collection. The works produced under the scheme vary greatly, reflecting the various styles and approaches of the artists selected.

The painting depicts a barren landscape with a large group of soldiers on horseback attacking men in trenches: the figures of many men and horses appear as a tangled mass in the foreground.

George Lambert, The Charge of the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba, 1917 [1920, oil on canvas, 139.5 x 261.7 x 10 cm, AWM ART02811]

Lambert was commissioned to paint this battle scene. It depicts a tangled mass of horses and soldiers against a barren landscape.

Do you think it matters that Lambert portrayed battles that he did not witness?

A cylindrical steel container tightly packed with pencils and brushes. A lid is attached to the container with a piece of string.
A painting depicting white tents in a barren landscape with high barren mountains and a blue sky in the background. A large dog is in the foreground.
Two figures with the one at the top a full-length figure in a prone position climbing; and the one below depicting a head and torso from the rear, wearing a cap.
Two sketches, with the top one depicting the front view head and torso of a man, with his right leg bent at the knee; and the lower one depicting a hand holding a rifle barrel.
A sketch of an Australian soldier lying on his left side, hoisting himself up with a rifle. Below that is a small study of the right foot and ankle of the soldier.
A sketch depicting an Australian soldier with full combat kit lying on an incline with his gun pointed uphill.
  • 1. Anne Gray, George W Lambert retrospective, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2007, p. 23
  • 2. Amy Lambert, Thirty years of an artist’s life, Society of Artists, Sydney, 1938, p. 84
  • 3. Amy Lambert, Thirty years of an artist’s life, Society of Artists, Sydney, 1938, p. 78
  • 4. CEW Bean, Gallipoli mission, Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1948, p. 108.