Call for Submissions
Title: Painting, Memory and the Great War
Editors: Margaret Hutchison and Steven Trout
Over the past century, paintings of the Great War have played an important role in shaping and expressing public memory of the conflict. Indeed, many canvases—think, for example, of the Panthéon de la Guerre or John Singer Sargent’s iconic Gassed—have enjoyed just as much cultural prominence as photographs or works of cinema. The Great War represents a “last hurrah” for painting as a significant form of cultural war remembrance. This volume will examine paintings as sites of memory, highlighting the dynamic exchange between artists and their patrons, both of whom were responsible for determining what was remembered in, and what was absent from, the canvas.
This volume seeks to draw together essays addressing individual paintings from a range of belligerent nations, including (but not limited to) Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Russia, and the United States. Each chapter will focus on the history of a single work and its role in the construction, consolidation, or perpetuation of memory. The paintings themselves may come from a wide variety of genres and styles. We are open to essays that explore the complexity of works produced during the conflict or afterwards, whether by independent painters or by members of official wartime art programs or post-war commemoration projects.
The University of Alabama Press has agreed to consider this collection as part of its new book series “War, Memory and Culture.” Publication is contingent upon successful external review. Please submit an abstract of 300 words outlining your proposed chapter to Margaret Hutchison margaret.hutchison@anu.edu.au and Steven Trout strout@southalabama.edu by 1 March 2016. Essays of 7, 000 words inclusive of footnotes in current Chicago Style format are to be submitted no later than 30 November 2016. Inquiries are welcome.