FRAMED PRINT, THE LAST GREAT CAVALRY CHARGE

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1994

Subcollections

Overview

Framed print of original oil on canvas artwork owned by the Australian War Memorial.
Titled: "The Last Great Cavalry Charge".
The subject is the charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse at Beersheba in 1917.
Captioned with the story of the event and a black and white photo of the Rising Sun badge.
Light coloured wood frame, cream matt, Perspex covered.

Historical information

Print produced by Watermark Publishing, Melbourne in 1994.
Framed by Omega-Select, Joondalup.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-37-2002.1853

Item type

Artworks

Width

72.5000 cm

Inscriptions and markings

Artist of original work: George W Lambert

Contextual Information

The Battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the larger British campaign against the Turkish positions in Palestine. The 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade under Brigadier General William Grant charged more than four miles towards the entrenched Turkish 27th Division, wielding their bayonets as swords, and captured the critical wells within the town.
Lambert depicted the charge at Beersheba at the moment when the Australian Light Horsemen dismounted and, with their bayonets, attacked the Turks in the trenches. He showed the charge from the side rather than face on, and this enabled him to present a mass of figures and to include both Australians and the entrenched enemy. He created an impression of the chaos of a battle charge, with horsemen galloping under fire, men and horses falling, a horse rearing with its rider, and soldiers fighting in a hand-to-hand struggle in the trenches.
The painting was commissioned by the Australian government through the Australian High Commission in London in December 1918, for £500, as part of the official war art scheme. Lambert completed the painting and in December 1920 submitted it to the High Commission, which then handed it to the Australian War Memorial.

Keywords

World War One

4th Light Horse Brigade

Year

1994

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Links to additional resources

https://digital.nga.gov.au/archive/exhibition/lambert/default.cfm%3fmnuid=1.html

National Gallery of Australia: George W Lambert Retrospective

Shire of Toodyay

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