Radnorshire Fine Arts Ltd has dated this Bruce Bairnsfather Original Watercolour to the Edwardian era.
Image: 7 1/8 x 12 1/4 In. (18 x 31.2 cm)
Frame: 12 7/8 x 17 7/8 in. (32.5 x 45.5 cm.)
Plum and Apple jam was a notorious staple of British Army rations during World War I, often criticized by soldiers for its ubiquity and lack of flavour. The text, “The trail of the lonesome pine,” references a popular contemporary song and novel of the same name, perhaps highlighting the soldier’s isolation but could also refer to the Gallipoli campaign during the Battle for Lone Pine. At the landing in April 1915 a single pine tree was growing on the site, and the Australians called it ‘Lonesome Pine’ from the title of a popular song. The tree was destroyed in the early fighting, but its seeds were planted in Australia.
Bairnsfather’s most famous creation is “Old Bill,” a curmudgeonly soldier often depicted with a walrus moustache and balaclava. His work was immensely popular among frontline troops and civilians alike for capturing the mundane, absurd, and gruelling reality of soldier life, a style he famously called “Fragments from France”.
The use of monochrome wash and pen-and-ink is characteristic of Bairnsfather’s original designs for magazines like The Bystander. Bairnsfather’s cartoons were more than just humour; they served as a vital morale booster by turning the tragedies of the Great War into something soldiers could share and laugh at.
Radnorshire Fine Arts Ltd has dated this Bruce Bairnsfather Original Watercolour to the Edwardian era.
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Original Watercolour Painting by Bruce Bairnsfather – ‘The Trail of the Lonesome Pine’ 1914-18
