Art Collections Online
Poland a Nation
DULAC, Edmund (1882 - 1953)
Poland a Nation - Edmund Dulac
Date: 1917
Media: lithograph on paper
Acquired: 1919; Presented by Ministry of Information
Accession Number: NMW A 13155
Collection: The Great War: Britain's Efforts and Ideals
A young Polish Hussar warrior dressed in traditional, semi-oriental, winged armour is wiping clean his sword. A black eagle lies dead at his feet and the white eagle of Poland rises free once more. The silhouetted tree is reminiscent of the bare trees of no-man’s land. This allegorical image was described by one journalist as, ‘a veritable triumph’.
Dulac was born in Toulouse, France. He first studied law before switching to art. He moved to Britain in 1904 and became a pre-eminent illustrator of deluxe edition books. During the First World War he illustrated several ‘gift’ books created to raise money for relief and was employed by the Ministry of Information in connection with pictorial propaganda.