Education resourceT e a c h e r s n o t e s

he Edwardians: Secrets and desires displays 140 paintings, sculptures, costumes and fan designs by select British, Irish, American, New Zealand and Australian artists who worked in Europe from 1900 to 1914. This resource is designed to complement a visit to The Edwardians . It has been prepared to assist with the appreciation of works of art within the exhibition and to provide a variety of contexts within which they can be understood. The resource can be adapted to suit the age level of the class and can be integrated into curriculum areas other than the visual arts including English, Technology, Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) and Languages Other Than English (LOTE).

The resource contains:

• 12 cards with full-colour images of works of art in The Edwardians and contextual information on the artists and the time in which they lived and worked• A timeline including selected important events and inventions of the Edwardian era• A series of discussion points for primary and secondary students.

Planning your visit

All groups must be booked through the Education office; Free entry for children 16 years old and under and teachers accompanying groups of twenty students at NGA; $20 per class size group (Category 1–4 and country schools free entry) at AGSA; Professional development is available for teachers at both venues.The website nga.gov.au/TheEdwardians has useful information to assist in pre-visit preparation, including 30 key works with additional text; teachers can download study sheets for primary and secondary students to use with the exhibition. Tours available by Gallery Educators and Voluntary Guides.

National Gallery of Australia bookingsPhone (02) 6240 6519Fax: (02) 6240 6560Email: education@nga.gov.auWebsite: nga.gov.au

Art Gallery of South Australia bookingsPhone: (08) 8207 7033Fax: (08) 8207 7070Email: agsa.education@saugov.sa.gov.au Website: artgallery.sa.gov.au

Other resources available to enhance your visit to this exhibition

• Information for education materials has been drawn from the The Edwardians exhibition catalogue. Edited by Dr Anne Gray, Assistant Director, Australian Art at the National Gallery of Australia, the catalogue is fully illustrated and contains comprehensive essays investigating the works of art and the era, and biographical information on each artist. The catalogue is available for $39.95 (10% discount for schools purchase) from the NGA Shop. Phone 1800 808 337 (freecall) or (02) 6240 6420, email trade@nga.gov.au or shop online at ngashop.com.au or at the Art Gallery of South Australia Bookshop, tel 08 82077029 (10% discount on school orders), email agsa.bookshop@saugov.sa.gov.au• Free children’s trail • Audio guides • Postcards and posters • nga.gov.au/TheEdwardians

Prepared by Education, National Gallery of Australia© National Gallery of Australia

John Singer Sargent 1856–1925Sir Frank Swettenham 1904oil on canvas 259.0 x 143.0 cmSingapore History Museum

Frank Athelstane Swettenham (1850–1946) was a colonial administrator. In this portrait by John Singer Sargent, the artist has captured Swettenham’s public persona and love of pomp. He is portrayed dressed in an immaculate white uniform with the KCMG star, surrounded by the emblems of empire: his white helmet and the ivory baton, his badge of office. His right arm rests on a piece of richly carved furniture draped with a rug and a length of Malaysian silk, while behind him an immense globe is turned to display the Malay States.

Discussion point:

• Look closely at the portrait of Sir Frank Swettenham. What he is wearing and what are the objects surrounding him in the room? Using these visual clues, describe his personality.

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he Edwardian period encompasses the decade of King Edward VII’s reign in Great Britain from 1901–10 until

the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. It is often thought of as a time of extravagance, excess, peace and prosperity, a respite between the atrocities of the Boer War (1899–1902) and the First World War.

The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Edward VII, was born in 1841 and ascended to the throne on the death of his mother in 1901. While the Victorian era was characterised by strict moral codes, the period under Edwardian VII—who had a somewhat decadent reputation—was known for its enjoyment of the good life and conspicuous consumption. He surrounded himself with rich and famous people, including influential businessmen and socialites.

The British Empire expanded under Victoria, and continued to do so under Edward. Many citizens of former colonies, including Australia which became federated in 1901, still considered themselves to be subjects of Great Britain, and referred to England as ‘home’. In spite of the perceived economic wealth, Britain was facing external competition from growing manufacturing and mining industries in Germany and the United States, and internal ruptures were also beginning to show. The Edwardian era, typified by privilege and elegance, was equally fraught with internal inequalities and impoverishment. The lifestyle enjoyed by the upper classes was made possible by servants. Women still did not have the right to vote in elections. Class distinctions seemed insurmountable and social mobility impossible.

George Lambert 1873–1930King Edward VII 1910oil on canvas 303.5 x 243.0 cmHistoric Memorials Collection, Parliament House, Canberra, gift of Amy Lambert in 1930

George Lambert depicted King Edward VII in the uniform of a field marshal, standing beside his favourite bay horse. Lambert, an Australian artist, worked from a few pencil sketches of the King, and then from a model who closely resembled him, dressed in the monarch’s uniform. Critics pronounced this portrait as one of the best of the King, the Studio critic commenting in March 1910: ‘Mr. Lambert’s portrait of the King is a wonderful piece of design, and the energy and precision of statement, the assurance and knowledge which his art displays, put his canvas, as court portraiture, on a plane above recent contemporary work of the kind.’ It was one of the last depictions of the King, who died shortly after this portrait was completed.

Discussion point:

• Look closely at the items and accessories Lambert has included in this portrait of Edward VII. Why do you think he is depicted in this way?

• Discuss how people earn medals. Create a medal for an imagined deed.

IntroductionT h e E d w a r d i a n E r a

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he privileged classes of the Edwardian era rarely acknowledged the harsher and darker side of life lived

by servants, factory workers and farm labourers. Artists often dramatised their subjects to portray the glamour and artifice of aristocratic lives. People with well-established social pedigrees who wanted to affirm their long-standing ancestry asked for their portraits to be painted in the grand manner of earlier artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), in order to demonstrate their continuing family tradition. Newly rich industrialists, successful businessmen and professionals—as well as artists, musicians and singers—wanted social credibility and believed that images which showed them and their families in a historical style would provide this.

George Lambert 1873–1930Lotty and a lady 1906oil on canvas 103.0 x 128.3cmNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest in 1910

Affluent Edwardians lived glamorous lives, attending numerous social engagements that required elaborate dress codes, rituals and etiquette. Formal dinners were an important means by which wealth and social standing could be achieved and dinners often consisted of many courses, requiring up to 50 pieces of silverware and china per person. Wealthy people could afford the luxury of servants to cook, serve and clean, and legions of men and women—well over a million British subjects—were in service. They rarely lived the carefree life pictured in images of their masters and mistresses.

Discussion point:

• Look at how Lambert has depicted the two women in Lotty and a lady. Describe the differences in their appearance and why the artist may have depicted them in this way.

• Have a class debate about the merits of social mobility. Choose some of the class to act as members of the aristocracy—the ‘upstairs’ members of the household— and others as servants ‘downstairs’.

P omp and ceremonyS o c i e t y , f a s h i o n , g l a m o u r a n d d i n i n g

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he Far East (now Southeast Asia) was opened up to Europe during Queen Victoria’s reign and the Edwardians’

curiosity for these exotic cultures was insatiable. This fascination for the Orient became known as ‘orientalism’ and was explored in art, theatre and music. Those who could afford to do so regularly travelled abroad. Artists visited places such as the Far East and North Africa, and portrayed these experiences in their paintings. They admired the beauty, the uniqueness of the dress, the brilliance of the light and the unaccustomed scale of colours that they found there. It had an enormous impact on their work. In the 1910s, the Australians Ethel Carrick, E. Philips Fox and Hilda Rix Nicholas all visited Morocco, and some of these paintings can be seen in the exhibition.

Ethel Carrick 1872–1952Arabs bargaining c.1911oil on canvas 64.5 x 81.0cmFosters Group, Melbourne

By 1911, when Ethel Carrick and her husband, E. Phillips Fox (1865–1915), first visited North Africa, it was already a well-established painting destination for western artists. For Carrick, the intense light and colourful costumes of the Arab people provided a rich visual spectacle that allowed her to experiment with ever more intense blocks of colour and pattern in her work. In Arabs bargaining, Carrick’s interest is as much in describing this commonplace market scene as in constructing a painting of abstract elements and high-keyed and vibrant colours.

Discussion point:

• Compare Arabs bargaining by Ethel Carrick with another Edwardian painting in the exhibition, perhaps John Lavery’s In Morocco, and then a painting that is very different, such as an interior scene. Describe the colours each artist has used, and the effect of light on the subject matter.

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Art and travel

dwardians who did not travel could still experience the fascination of unfamiliar cultures in the many expositions, fairs and shows exhibiting imported artefacts and material culture for their enjoyment and education. Some of the most popular exhibits featured Japanese and Chinese objets d’art and ceremonial dress, both of which fed the fashions for Japonisme and Chinoiserie. Capitalising on the popular ‘Orientalism’ theme, Parisian designers began to adapt key motifs from Eastern clothing for Western fashions. Elaborate embroideries of chrysanthemums and other exotic flowers appeared on expensive couture and kimono-shaped gowns began to appear. Fashion designers were very sensitive to the mood of society and some were directly influenced by Léon Bakst’s costume designs in the Ballets Russes , introducing bright colours and brilliant hues whilst the pastel colours of the Edwardian era were still very fashionable. By the end of the Edwardian era designers had embraced fashion inspired by the Orient and stylish women wore harem pants, lampshade tunics and turbans in vibrant colours, wearing Eastern bejewelled slippers as accessories.

J.D. Fergusson 1874–1961Le Manteau chinois 1909oil on canvas 195.5 x 97.0cmThe Fergusson Gallery, Perth and Kinross Council, Scotland

Initially influenced by Whistler, the Scottish painter and sculptor J. D. Fergusson became inspired by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and evolved a more modernist style, characterised by flat areas of vivid colour. In the full-length portrait Le Manteau chinois Fergusson has used a flat, decorative style more attuned to Fauvism, emphasising basic shapes and bright colours, linked to the fashion for Japanese prints, rather than tonality and modelling. In this work, he painted the Irish-American artist Anne Estelle Rice (1877–1959) standing in mid-turn surrounded by panels decorated with swirling red roses and Chinese symbols. She wears a flatly painted ‘manteau’, or coat, that emphasises her dramatically pale face and red lips.

Discussion point:

• Why would fashionable Edwardians want to dress up? What does their style of dress reveal about them?

• Can you find examples of contemporary fashion that use design elements or motifs from Japan or China?

• In the exhibition, compare the paintings using orientalist themes to the costumes from the Ballets Russes . Look at colour, design and fabric.

Orientalism and fashion

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dwardian entertainment was a component of a turbulent era whose preoccupations echo those of our own day. The meteoric rise of popular forms of mass entertainment including musical comedy, variety theatre and the cinema appealed to new audiences eager to be amused. The politics of theatre were not restricted to satirical stage plays that took politics, the inequities of society and the suffrage movement as their subject, but play-going formed a great part of the social scene—who was seen with whom, what they were wearing, where were they seen—all impacted on a person’s social standing.

From 1909 the Ballets Russes caused a theatrical sensation with their brilliant vision of exotic cultures that integrated design, costume, music and dance. Led by Russian émigré, ballet producer and creative director Sergei Diaghilev (1872–1929), the Ballets Russes were a pivotal force in changing people’s perceptions of elegance and taste. During this time the Australian-born soprano Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter) rose to the height of her career, Percy Grainger composed works based on popular English folk music and George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion (later to be made into the film My Fair Lady ).

Philip Connard 1875–1958The guitar player c.1909oil on canvas 62.2 x 50.8cmArt Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Morgan Thomas Bequest Fund in 1933

In The guitar player, Philip Connard has depicted a small group which includes his daughters, Jane and Helen, a guitarist (thought to be the children’s nursemaid, Evelyn) and his wife, standing behind the group. The artist has also included his own image, reflected in the mirror to the right. The guitar player depicts more than a charming family scene, it shows a debt to previous works by artists such as Diego Velasquez (1599–1660) and Edouard Manet (1832–1883).

Discussion point:

• Find an image of Velasquez’s Las Meninas 1656 in an art history book and compare it with The guitar player.

• Think of the painting as having different planes that recede into the picture. Each vertical surface (couch, wall, mirror reflection) would represent a different plane and he has depicted each person in relation to these planes. Look at where Connard has placed each person in this artificial space.

• How has he achieved a sense of unity in the painting?

Music and cultureE

any artists were influential during the Edwardian period, but none more so than the American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903). Whistler was a lecturer, teacher, writer, painter, printmaker, designer and collector, who was considered to have directly influenced many early twentieth-century artists in Europe and America, changing the approach and attitude towards visual art and its cultural meaning. His paintings of the 1870s, most famously his ‘Nocturnes’ and other works with musical titles, were studies of tone, colour and atmosphere, which he regarded as tone poems in paint, and which emphasised his interest in ‘art for its own sake’ rather than for its subject.

Whistler had left America in 1855, arriving in England in 1860 via Paris, where he had met the realist painter Gustave Courbet. He took lodgings at Wapping, a seedy part of the city, and began to paint and etch scenes of the London docks. Walter Sickert became his pupil and assistant. Sickert himself was involved with the Camden Town Group of artists that continued painting the darker side of Edwardian London. In 1898, Whistler established the Académie Carmen in Paris, where Gwen John was a student. That year, he was elected president of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers and played a key role in its affairs over the next two years. His friends Monet and Rodin sent work to the International Society’s exhibitions. His art had a powerful influence on the generation of artists that followed. He wrote The gentle art of making enemies (1890), letters and pamphlets on art.

James McNeill Whistler 1834–1903Mother of pearl and silver: The Andalusian 1888(?)–1900oil on canvas 191.5 x 89.8cmNational Gallery of Art, Washington, Harris Whittemore Collection

Mother of pearl and silver: The Andalusian depicts Whistler’s sister-in-law, Ethel Birnie Philip (1861–1920), his favourite model in the 1890s. In this painting, Whistler has used fluid oil paint, brushing it onto the canvas almost as if it were watercolour. By understating Ethel’s profile and, in the way he portrayed the train of her gown and the expanse of the floor, he has created the sense of someone slowly turning, about to move away. His use of cool greys and warm tans has created a Spanish mood, in keeping with the works title, The Andalusian which refers to the evening dress intended to resemble a traditional Adalusian costume. At this time, couturiers gave their dresses names so that customers could ask to view the ‘Andalusian’ design, and then request their dressmakers to make replicas. The Andalusian is as much a portrait of a dress as of a person.

Discussion point:

• Look at Whistler’s paintings (there are several in the exhibition). Can you find Whistler’s signature butterfly in any of his works?

• Compare his paintings to those by Sickert, Ramsay and Bunny. What differences or similarities can you see?

• What do you think Whistler meant by ‘art for art’s sake’?

• Can you think of contemporary artists who are as influential today as Whistler was in his day? Who do you think are the main arbiters of visual art imagery today?

Artistic influence

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‘Art should be independent of clap-trap—should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism and the like.’ James McNeill Whistler

t was typical of many young artists who had studied art in their own country to make the journey to Europe and Britain, often at the urging of their art teachers. Some were fortunate to be granted a scholarship that enabled a living allowance, others embarked with family inheritance or assistance, while others simply took a chance, boarded a steamer and followed their dream. In Europe their experience was broadened through further study, mixing with other artists, and learning from the many galleries and museums available to them. Many artists found the life of an expatriate difficult, without family support and often with very little money. They tended to gather together, sharing studios, friendships, clients and commissions.

When Hugh Ramsay travelled to Europe in 1900, he met George and Amy Lambert on the boat. He studied in Paris at the Académie Colarossi and Académie Delécluze, where Lambert and Ambrose Patterson were also students, and he moved in the same circles as other expatriate Australian artists including Rupert Bunny, Agnes Goodsir and Max Meldrum. Patterson arranged for Hugh Ramsay to meet his brother’s sister-in-law, Nellie Melba, and she commissioned him to paint her portrait when he moved to London in April 1902.

Hugh Ramsay 1877–1906Portrait of the artist standing before easel 1901–02oil on canvas 128.0.4 x 86.4cmNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, bequest of the executors on behalf of Miss E.D. Ramsay

Hugh Ramsay painted a large number of self-portraits, often as private works, not Salon pictures. In Portrait of the artist standing before easel, he depicted himself in the studio he shared with J.S. MacDonald in Paris. He showed himself in the act of painting, brush and palette in hand, at the moment of drawing back from the easel to look at his work. Behind him is the hired piano which he and MacDonald played to entertain friends such as Bunny, Lambert and Meldrum. The room, which Amy Lambert described as being insanitary, served as the artists’ studio, sitting room, bedroom and kitchen.

Discussion point:

• Look for works in the exhibition by artists who studied, were friends or shared studios together, such as Ramsay, Bunny and Patterson. Can you see any similarities in their works?

• Find works by artists of their friends and family. How are they painted differently to commissioned, society portraits?

Expatriate artistsI

dwardian women lived very different lives to women of today. Where equal rights and pay are today considered to be the norm in our society, in Edwardian times women were treated very differently to men: they were educated differently, had fewer rights both in and out of marriage and, importantly, were not permitted to vote in elections. Much of this stemmed from the view that marriage was considered a woman’s ‘natural destiny’, that a husband would look after a woman and provide all she required, and that if a woman did not marry, her life was considered in some way a failure.

Emmeline Pankhust and the Suffragettes

New Zealand had granted women the right to vote in 1893 and Australia followed soon after in 1902. However in other countries Edwardian women led a campaign for suffrage (the right to vote) that lasted for years. In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) which was to be a very different type of women’s organisation. Rather than campaign by polite political pressure, the WSPU’s motto was ‘deeds not words’ and its members, called ‘Suffragettes’, lived up to their motto. These women threw eggs, chained themselves to railings, scattered marbles under police horses’ hooves and set fire to pillar boxes. Determined to win the battle for universal suffrage, many were imprisoned, injured or went on hunger strikes for their cause. In one notorious incident, the suffragette Emily Davison ran in front of the King’s horse during the Derby in June 1913 and was killed while campaigning for the suffragette cause. It was not until after the First World War that their persistent campaign had results. In the Representation of the People Act of 1918, all women over 30 were given the right to vote alongside adult males.

Henry Tonks 1862–1937After the bath 1910–11oil on canvas 106.7 x 96.5cmprivate collection

Henry Tonks favoured painting tender, domestic interiors. In After the bath he created a modern-day Madonna and Child in an everyday setting, with a lively baby and adoring sisters. Tonks replaced the traditional shepherd with a young girl presenting a toy sheep to the baby. The central figure shows a controlled strength and presence, modelling the epitome of appropriate behaviour for an Edwardian mother.

Discussion point:

• Look closely at the composition of After the bath. Can you identify how Tonks has created a sense of strength in the central figure?

• This is a complex group portrait. Has the artist painted each of the subjects the same way? Describe any difference you may see.

Women and societyf e m i n i s m , c h a n g i n g r o l e s o f w o m e n , w o r k

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dwardian artists—like many contemporary artists—regarded themselves as part of a continuing tradition, referring to works of earlier artists in their own paintings and sculptures. They shared a British aesthetic concerned with studio technique and artifice, but also enjoyed a new, modified form of Impressionism and painting outdoors (en plein air). Paintings and sculptures of the early Edwardian era reveal artists’ interests in traditional themes, naturalistic colours and classical forms. These artists often used allegoric themes to convey something universal and ageless, such as Rupert Bunny’s allegory of love An idyll, or Harold Parker’s Orpheus .

As the Edwardian era progressed, artists in London began using bold colours, shapes and surfaces. This was partly a response to the impact of modernism, partly because of artists’ rejection of painting society portraits in preference to pursuing ‘art for art’s sake’, and partly because groups of artists, such as the Camden Town Group, who lived in a gritty, working-class area of London, became dissatisfied with an approach that was only one visual mode of expressing the Edwardian time. These artists’ dark and impressionistic paintings and engravings were inspired by Walter Sickert, whose own work, while dramatic and raw, was the antithesis of an idealised view of art as viewed by the other Salon artists.

Harold Parker 1873-1962Orpheus modelled 1904, cast c.1909bronze 43.6 x 15.0 x 17.5cmNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, gift of William Richard Cumming in 1984

Auguste Rodin 1840–1917Study for Monument à Whistler, modelled 1910bronze 65.5 x 33.0 x 34.0cmArt Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, gift of David Jones Ltd in 2001

Rupert Bunny 1864–1947An idyll 1901oil on canvas 62.7 x 131.3cmArt Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

In An idyll, Rupert Bunny followed the tradition of the Italian and French masters in adopting mythological and allegorical themes. His parents introduced him to myths and legends, to the gods and goddesses of classical times, and throughout his life he retuned to mythological themes as in this painting. This image conveys a dream of a golden time, of Olympian gods and goddesses, of Adam and Eve before the Fall and of eternal man and woman. It conveys a very common human experience, but idealised and sweetened by being located in an imaginary realm.

Discussion point:

• Look at the colours and the surface treatment of An idyll. Can you see any brushmarks? What kind of brush would he have used?

• Now look at the paintings of the Camden Town Group in the exhibition. Describe their approach in painting the female form and discuss how their painting style affects your interpretation of the work.

• Changes in sculpture were also occurring at this time. Compare the works of Harold Parker and Auguste Rodin in the exhibition looking at surface and form.

The shifting ideals of art

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he beginning of the twentieth century was a time of rapid technological and social change. During the Edwardian era material and technological innovations were introduced that changed the face of society: the telegraph, telephone, mass-produced typewriters, elevators, electric lights, the vacuum cleaner, air conditioner, fire extinguisher, household detergent, electric food mixer, refrigerators, the brassiere and the bicycle were all invented during this period.

It was also a period of incredible scientific and technological progress: motion pictures, mass-produced automobiles, cellophane, synthetic ammonia, neon lighting, diesel locomotive, stainless steel, tear gas, AM radio, SONAR were all invented. In addition, discoveries made during the era include amino acids, Vitamins A and D, hormones, radium, quantum theory, relativity theory, genetic heredity, atomic structure, superconductivity and X-ray diffraction. The list of inventions and discoveries was best captured in the ‘unsinkable’ SS Titanic, the grand ocean liner which embodied human progress, opulence, and the excesses of the time—but now resting on the ocean floor.

Like all Edwardians, artists experienced these changes and innovations in their personal and professional lives. Writers, artists and musicians all benefited from the modernisation of their lives as mobility increased, lighting was made safer and more reliable, and household appliances meant that domestic chores, at least in theory, were easier. Modern art exhibitions such as ‘Manet and the Post-Impressionists’ in 1910 expanded the audience for modern art and influenced many artists to try this ‘new’ form of art.

Vanessa Bell 1879-1961Virginia Woolf c.1912oil on board 40.0 x 34.0cmNational Portrait Gallery, London

Vanessa Stephen was the daughter of literary critic, Sir Leslie Stephen, and sister of Virginia Woolf. She founded the Friday Club in 1905 as a meeting place for artists and people interested in art. Among its members were Derwent Lees, Henry Lamb and Clive Bell, whom she married in 1907. She became enthused by modernism after Roger Fry’s exhibition, ‘Manet and the Post-Impressionists’ in 1910. She was an important designer for the Omega Workshops, from its inception by Roger Fry in 1913 until its closure in 1919. Bell’s portrait of her sister captures a moment of quiet intimacy, with Virginia seated indoors in a large armchair, quite unselfconsciously ‘being herself’. At this time, Bell was already simplifying her compositions and using bold colour contrasts. By bringing her subject into close focus and emphasising her head and hands, Bell captured the intensity of Woolf’s concentration.

Discussion point:

• This painting is not a commissioned portrait, as are some of the society portraits in the exhibition, but a painting of the artist’s sister. As such it is a less formal portrait. Describe Bell’s method of painting this portrait of her sister.

• Virginia Woolf began writing her first novel The voyage out in 1908, but it was published in 1915. Many of her short stories were experimental and some, such as A room of one’s own (1929), quite political in discussing women’s writing and its historical, economic and social underpinning. Source some of Woolf’s writing and discuss it in relation to this portrait.

The birth of the modern age

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1901 Death of Queen Victoria; Coronation of King Edward VII; Commonwealth of Australia created; Boxer Rebellion ends in China; R.A. Fessenden transmits the first human speech via radio waves; Marconi sends the first telegraph messages.

1902 The Boer War ends; Marie and Pierre Curie discover radiation; Australia grants women the vote; ‘Teddy’ bears named after US President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt.

1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful aeroplane flight; Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) formed by suffragettes Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst; Marie Curie is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize; Tea bags patented.

1904 Russo-Japanese War begins; ‘Bloody Sunday’ in St. Petersburg and mutiny on the battleship Potemkin mark the beginning of revolutionary Russia; Rolls- Royce car manufacturing company formed; First London taxi; J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up opens in London; New York police arrest a woman for smoking in public;

1905 Einstein formulates the Theory of Relativity, E=MC2; Freud publishes Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex ; International Workers of the World Union founded; Rayon yarn manufactured commercially though the viscose process.

1906 Elections in Great Britain give liberals victory; ‘Line School Meals Act’ allows free dinners to school children; Nightshift work for women is forbidden internationally; R.A. Fessenden broadcasts the first radio program of voice and music.

1907 Austria declares universal direct suffrage; Paris holds first Cubist exhibition.

1908 Boy Scout movement founded by Robert Baden-Powell; L.H. Baekeland invents Bakelite, the forerunner of plastics.

1909 Commonwealth introduces pensions for the aged (including Australia); Olympics held in London; First purpose-built cinema opens in London; ‘Model T’ Ford produced; Sergei Diaghilev’s ‘Ballets Russes’ perform in Paris;.

1910 Death of King Edward VII, Coronation of King George V; Death of Florence Nightingale; Roger Fry’s ‘Manet and the Post-Impressionists’ exhibition in London introduces post-impressionism to British audiences; Girl Guide movement founded by Baden-Powell and his sister, Agnes.

1911 Revolution in China, Sun Yat-sen becomes the first President; Amundsen reaches the South Pole before the ill-fated team led by Scott; ‘Shops Act’ legislates for 60-hour week, all employees entitled to half-day holiday each week; ‘Ballets Russes’ perform at Covent Garden.

1912 Maternity allowance introduced; Beginning of the Irish Revolution; C.G. Jung publishes The Theory of Psychoanalysis ; S.S. Titanic sinks with the loss of over 1,513 lives; At Longchamps races in France, women wear Turkish trousers á la Poiret for the first time (Ascot Races in England will not permit trousers for women until 1969); Performances of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe and Stravinsky’s The Firebird.

1913 Suffragette Emily Davison throws herself under the King’s horse at the Derby and dies from her injuries; The first woman magistrate is sworn in in London; Brassiere, Zip fastener and Crosswords invented; Balkan War breaks out; The Armory show opens in New York, introducing Post-Impressionism and Cubism.

1914 Immigration, already restricted since 1905 Act, is further restricted; Over 50,000 women involved in campaigning to achieve universal suffrage; Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, precipitating the First World War.

C.R.W. Nevinson 1889–1946Returning to the trenches 1914oil on canvas 51.2 x 76.8cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, gift of the Massey Collection of English Painting in 1946

C. R. W. Nevinson witnessed the heavy casualties and widespread devastation of the first battles in Flanders. He wrote in the Daily Express, 25 February 1915, that he had ‘tried to express the emotion produced by the apparent ugliness and dullness of modern warfare. Our Futurist technique is the only possible medium to express the crudeness, violence, and brutality of the emotions seen and felt on the present battlefields of Europe … Modern art needs not beauty, or restraint, but vitality. The public cannot realise too soon that the modern artist is not the puny and effeminate long-haired creature of the eighties.’

Discussion point:

• As an artist how would you depict war today?

Timeline