Existing comment:
The Human Cost:
The AEF artists attempted to capture as full a picture of the war as possible. That of course included the human cost of the conflict, for both military personnel and civilians. During World War I, the battlefield cut through villages and homes and displaced local people to an unprecedented extent.
The artists covered the war's occupation and destruction of towns and villages, and the refugees that created. The taking of prisoners and the wounds of war were other frequent subjects. Although the full reality of the suffering and human loss did not appear in their art, they did attempt to leave a record of the care given the wounded and the memory of the lost. |