CHARLES DAVID JONES BRYANT (Australian ,1883-1937) Camouflaged Hospital Ships and other Boats, Le

CHARLES DAVID JONES BRYANT (Australian ,1883-1937) Camouflaged Hospital Ships and other Boats, Le Havre signed pencil and watercolour 12 x 16in (30.5 x 40.6cm) The subject shows `dazzle` camouflaged ships docked, waiting to transport wounded troops back to England Charles Bryant was appointed an official war artist in November 1917,and eight days later formally enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant. Eight days later he travelled to Messines in Belgium attached to the second Division of the AIF. He wrote to captain Smart `I am feeling very fit but conditions for painting are very bad owing to the extreme cold-paint freezing all the time`. Yet he persevered and managed several paintings of bomb damaged villagess and landscapes.He also painted a number of coastal and port subjects Bryant`s appointment as a war artist had been particularly influenced by his reputation as a marine painter, and he was asked by the AIF in 1918 to record the embarkation and disembarkation of Australian troops at Le Havre and Boulogne.