Canadian artist Frederick Varley on the horrors of World War I I'm going to paint a picture of it, but heavens, it can't say a thousandth part of a story. We'd be healthier to forget, & that we never can Content by Robert J. Ballantyne Posted on July 25, 2020 Oil on canvas painting by F.H. Varley, ‘For What?’ Public domain. 1918 I’m mighty thankful I’ve left France — I never want to see it again. This last trip over has put the tin hat on it. To see the land half cultivated & people coming back to where their homes were is too much for my make up. You’ll never know dear anything of what it means. I’m going to paint a picture of it, but heavens, it can’t say a thousandth part of a story. We’d be healthier to forget, & that we never can. We are forever tainted with its abortiveness & its cruel drama — and for the life of me I don’t know how that can help progression. It is foul and smelly — and heartbreaking. Sometimes I could weep my eyes out when I get despondent… To be normal, to be as those silly cows & sheep that do naught but graze & die, well, it’s forgetfulness.F.H. Varley, as written in a letter to his wife Maud, about his painting ‘For What?’, 1919 Reference Canadian War Museum. (n.d.). Painting, For What? Retrieved from https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/artifact/1015826/ Robertson, H., Robert McLaughlin Gallery. (1977). A Terrible beauty: the art of Canada at war. Toronto: J. Lorimer, p. 93. Related topics Conflict and Peace    History education    World War I