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Bone, Sir W. Muirhead

Bone, Sir W. Muirhead
Bone, Sir W. Muirhead
Bone, Sir W. Muirhead
About the artist
Name
Bone, Sir W. Muirhead
Biography
Bone trained as an architect before studying at Glasgow School of Art under Archibald Kay. He produced his first set of Glasgow etchings in 1899, inspired by the work of Whistler. Bone's prints introduced him to the London art world and after moving South in 1901, he had his first exhibition at the Carfax Gallery in 1902.
From 1901 onwards, Bone took to drypoint rather than etching almost exclusively. In 1910 Bone went to Italy where he painted works like the 'Rainy Night in Rome.'
In 1916 Bone was appointed by Charles Masterman, head of the British War Propaganda Bureau, as Britain's first official war artist. Sent to the Front in August of that year, at the height of the Somme offensive, he worked rapidly in various media - pencil, pen, charcoal and chalk - sending back over 150 finished drawings by October. Additionally, he was a driving force behind the foundation of the Imperial War Museum and was appointed as a Trustee in 1920. When the Second World War broke out, Bone was once again the first war artist to be appointed to document the conflict.
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