War in the Air | Exploring SMALL TOWN Canada at War

This print of “War in the Air” by war artist C.R.W. Nevinson depicts a dogfight involving Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop. Bishop is believed to be responsible for the second highest number of downed enemy aircraft (72).

The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire commissioned and presented this print in “Memory of the men and women of the Empire who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918.” The artist, C.R.W. Nevinson, was one of the most famous war artists during World War I. At the beginning of the war he joined the Friends Ambulance Unit, but he was forced to return to England due to his ill health; he continued to work on a series of powerful paintings about the war, many showing the strong influence of the Futurist movement. Paths to Glory is perhaps one of his best-known pieces of war related art. He was later commissioned as an official war artist by the British government.

War in the Air

Date: Circa 1917

Image Description:

War in the Air by C.R.W. Nevinson.