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Building Ships

Print
1917 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Great War: Britain’s Efforts and Ideals was an ambitious project of artistic propaganda comprising sixty-six prints distributed by the British government in 1917. The aim was to stimulate public morale and support for the war effort.
Eighteen artists were commissioned, including Frank Brangwyn, Augustus John, Eric Kennington (an official war artist in both World Wars and sculptor of many war memorials), and C.R.W Nevinson. They were each assigned their subjects and had to work under strict censorship regulations.
Separated into two sets of portfolios titled ‘Ideals’ (12 prints) and ‘Efforts’ (54 prints) the former reinforced lofty goals such as The Triumph of Democracy, The Restoration of Serbia, and The Reconstruction of Belgium, while the latter illustrated key activities of the war effort such as munitions factories, women workers, training young soldiers, and agriculture in wartime.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Building Ships (series title)
  • A fitting-out basin (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
lithograph on paper
Brief description
'A fitting-out basin', lithograph by Muirhead Bone from the series The Great War: Britain's Efforts and Ideals, Great Britain, 1917
Physical description
Print depicting a fitting-out basin at a naval shipyard.
Dimensions
  • Height: 18.375in
  • Width: 14.125in
Average size of print in series. Dimensions taken from Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1916-1918, London: HMSO, 1920.
Credit line
Given by the Ministry of Information
Object history
These six prints are taken from the series 'The Great War: Britain's Efforts and Ideals'. The series was commissioned by Wellington House as propaganda for the First World War and to raise funds, and includes 66 prints by 18 of Britain's leading artists.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Great War: Britain’s Efforts and Ideals was an ambitious project of artistic propaganda comprising sixty-six prints distributed by the British government in 1917. The aim was to stimulate public morale and support for the war effort.
Eighteen artists were commissioned, including Frank Brangwyn, Augustus John, Eric Kennington (an official war artist in both World Wars and sculptor of many war memorials), and C.R.W Nevinson. They were each assigned their subjects and had to work under strict censorship regulations.
Separated into two sets of portfolios titled ‘Ideals’ (12 prints) and ‘Efforts’ (54 prints) the former reinforced lofty goals such as The Triumph of Democracy, The Restoration of Serbia, and The Reconstruction of Belgium, while the latter illustrated key activities of the war effort such as munitions factories, women workers, training young soldiers, and agriculture in wartime.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1916-1918, London: HMSO, 1920.
Collection
Accession number
E.760-1918

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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