An Officers Billet at G.H.Q., June 1917 1917

Curator: Sir Muirhead Bone's drawing, "An Officer's Billet at G.H.Q., June 1917," shows the facade of a grand building, rendered in precise lines. It's part of the Tate collection. Editor: It's unsettling—this image of calm domesticity amidst the chaos of war. The open door seems to invite us into something ordinary, even as the reality was anything but. Curator: Bone was one of the first official war artists in World War I. Images like this were meant to portray the war effort as organized and under control, shaping public perception. Editor: But that very control is what I find disturbing. It attempts to normalize the unacceptable, to erase the human cost. Where are the people? Where is the trauma? Curator: The drawing exemplifies how art functions as a political tool, sanitizing the brutal realities of war for consumption back home. Editor: It's a study in contrasts—the detailed architecture versus the absent human figures. It leaves me questioning what stories aren't being told. Curator: Absolutely, a poignant reminder of the power of visual narratives in shaping historical memory. Editor: A beautifully rendered, deeply troubling image.