Lady in a Hat (1916)

‘On behalf of those who are suffering now I make this protest against the deception which is being practiced on them (British soldiers); also I believe that I may help to destroy the callous complacence with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realize.’

Last paragraph of Siegfried Sassoon’s resignation letter July 1917.

This sketch was made during the Battle of the Somme.

George Frederick Browne was an English artist and a prolific illustrator of children’s books in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The critic Arnold Dalby wrote: ‘Gordon Browne was one of the greatest illustrators of the Golden Age, both in terms of quality and quantity. His sheer prolificity, averaging six books a year for nearly half a century, may have undervalued his reputation, but there is no doubt his innumerable vivid and painstakingly accurate drawings will be treasured as long as men read.’