Visions of War (2024)

IWM holds one of the most significant collections of British art anywhere in the world – a collection whose artists and artworks have uniquely shaped our understanding of war.

Visions of War charts the manifold engagement between artists, art movements and a century-plus of conflict since 1914. Its richly illustrated pages uncover the intricate and changing history of IWM’s art collection,from its inception during the First World War to its consideration of the causes, course and consequences of conflict today. It illuminates some of the museums’s most powerful stories, from the provocative, heartfelt statement of William Orpen’s To the Unknown British Soldier in France to the frontline challenges for contemporary war artists, including Steve McQueen. This book brings together iconic and previously unseen works to tell the authoritative story of modern war art.

Artists featured include David Cotterrell, Paul Nash, C R W Nevinson, David Bomberg, Anna Airy, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert, Wyndham Lewis, Eric Ravilious, Laura Knight, Henry Moore, Evelyn Dunbar, Linda Kitson, Peter Kennard, Gilbert & George, Colin Self, and Rosalind Nashashibi.