Art in war time

Photos above from top, left to right

Death of Chanticleer- drawn for Dorothy, family collection

Little Bo Peep - from family collection

Cow and cat - from family collection

S.Y Rose, Train, Rock Charming Hjerkinn, shovelling coal, Bindle, Disdain and The Fire - 'R.A. Clarke Sketchbook, courtesy of robertstjohnsmith.com, shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence'

Eagle from 1916 Christmas Card - from the family collection

HMS India framed - from the family collection

Birch trunk painting - from the family collection

HMS India, Kenilworth Castle, Alcantara - from the family collection

In addition to the many letters we have from Arnold's internment in Norway, we are also blessed to have a collection of his art. Arnold came from a family of enthusiastic, amateur writers, sketchers and artists. Not only would the siblings send letters and postcards to each other but they would also send each other, often amusing, sketches. Every year father would receive a hand drawn card that was often pages long filled with amusing drawings, paintings and sketches. It is not surprising then that Arnold turned to art when he found himself interned in Norway. His sketches are often topical with pictures of the railways he was working on or little vignettes of life in the camp but there are also drawings that demonstrate his awareness of the war raging outside of the camp. Sometimes the sketches were very personal and drawn with a special person, usually one of his sisters, in mind. Unfortunately I have no evidence of the certificates that he carefully drew for his sister, Queenie, to distribute amongst her students at Branksome College in New Milton - I would be beyond thrilled to stumble across one but I feel that this is highly unlikely!

I would like to think that sketching and drawing was a comfort to Arnold during his 3 plus years in internment. That the physical act of putting pen on paper allowed him some escape from his isolation and loneliness. A recent discovery of a sketchbook of Arnold's made me realize drawing was not a purely solo activity. The sketchbook, which belonged to Arnold, was obviously shared amongst some of his fellow internees with art and pieces of writing from six others included in the book. I find this in itself comforting as in all of his letters Arnold very rarely mentions the other internees and I had the feeling that he kept his distance from others. This sketchbook, however, makes me picture the men in their huts sharing books, pens and ideas and I hope that this as well eased Arnold's and others loneliness.

All drawings below are from the family collection and include a birthday card for father written in 1914.