World War I and the Visual Arts

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

NOW CLOSED

The Parents (1921–22), Käthe Kollwitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Organised to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, this exhibition focuses on the impact of the war on the visual arts, exploring how artists reacted to and represented the horrors of modern warfare. Drawn mainly from the museum’s collection, the chronological display includes prints, photographs, illustrated books, and trading cards, as well as medals, examples of trench art, and helmets. It reveals how artists – including Otto Dix, Fernand Léger, Käthe Kollwitz, and C.R.W. Nevinson – reflected a myriad of styles, ideologies, and mediums in response to the war. As the reality of the war became apparent, several figures changed their positions to express fierce condemnation, mournful regret, or pacifist sentiments. Find out more about the ‘World War I and the Visual Arts’ exhibition from The Met’s website.

Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here

Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) (1916), Ernst Barlach. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Parents (1921–22), Käthe Kollwitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Returning to the Trenches (1916), C. R. W. Nevison. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wheels in Vault (1918), John Singer Sargent. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

American Helmet Model No. 7, Experimental Sentinel’s helmet prototype, produced by W. H. Mullins Co., Salem, Ohio, 1918. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Event website