Will Longstaff

Menin Gate at Midnight,1927

William Frederick Longstaff(25 December 1879 – 1 July 1953)was an Australian painter andwar artistbest known for his works commemorating those who died in theFirst World War.

Birth and education

Born inBallarat,Victoria,Longstaff was educated at Grenville College, Ballarat, studying art at theBallarat School of Minesand privately before joining the military and serving in theBoer Waras a member of the South AfricanLight Horse.He was the cousin of portrait painterSir John Longstaff.

Career and the First World War

Upon returning to Australia, Longstaff continued to paint and teach art. He enlisted in theAustralian Imperial Forceat the outbreak of the First World War and was injured in theGallipoli campaign.In October 1915 he joined a remount unit and served inFranceandEgyptbefore being evacuated to England in 1917. In England, he began drawing again and was trained in the art of camouflage. During his time in Egypt, Longstaff had made images of theANZAC Mounted Divisionand the other units. Upon his appointment as an Official War Artist in 1918 he produced numerous works during the final campaigns of theWestern Front.

Post-war

After the war, Longstaff continued his art, turning many of his sketches into paintings. Even after leaving the military, he remained in England, eventually settling inSussex.Beginning the late-1920s, he made return trips to the battlefields ofBelgiumandFranceand painted haunting images in a spiritualist style. Among these later works isMenin Gate at Midnight(1927), arguably his most famous, which depicts the ghostly figures of soldiers marching past the monument.The painting toured Australia in 1928–29. It was viewed by record crowds.

The painting is housed in theAustralian War Memorial,Canberra.In December 2000Menin Gate at Midnightleft the War Memorial on loan to theNational Gallery of Australia,the first time it had left the memorial since its installation there in 1941.

Death

He died in 1953.

8th August, 1918,1918–19

Select works

This is adynamic listand may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help byadding missing itemswithreliable sources.

• 8 August 1918,1918–19
• Breaking the Hindenburg Line,1918–19
• Menin Gate at Midnight (Ghosts of Menin Gate),1927
• Immortal shrine (Eternal silence),1928
• The rearguard (The spirit of ANZAC),1928
• Ghosts of Vimy Ridge(Canadian National Vimy Memorial), 1931
• Carillon,1932
• Drake's Drum,1940
• The Battle of El Alamein, 1942(National Army Museum), 1942
• Portrait ofIvy Tresmand,inMuseuMAfricA,Johannesburg,South Africa
• Portrait ofJohn Anderson Gilruth,veterinary scientist and administrator, in the Australian Animal Health Laboratory inGeelong

See also

• Australian official war artists

External links

• Biography
• Profile at the Australian War Memorial