The Beautiful and Damned: Radical Art of the Great War

The Beautiful and Damned: Radical Art of the Great War
2018

Sotheby’s organized The Beautiful and Damned: Radical Art of the Great War, a curated catalog and exhibition to commemorate the centennial of the WW1 armistice. “11 November 2018, marked 100 years since the Armistice that halted combat and effectively ended the First World War. As the world paused to remember this momentous anniversary, Sotheby’s was honored to present an exhibition of works that illustrate the tremendous and varied impact of the War on the artistic production of those whose lives it transformed. From the earliest seeds of abstraction through to Dada and le rappel à l’ordre in the aftermath of the War, The Beautiful and Damned offered those artists who defined the “Lost Generation” a conduit to the present day, to remind us of the humanity of a world at war and the epochal lessons, learned a century ago, that remains as pertinent today as ever” — Julian Dawes

Working closely with Jonathan Wills, we adapted the dazzle camouflage as part of the creative branding for the auction. Dazzle camouflage was a family of ship camouflage used extensively in World War I. Credited to the British marine artist Norman Wilkinson, it consisted of complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colors, interrupting and intersecting each other. Unlike other forms of camouflage, the intention of dazzle was not to conceal but to make it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed, and heading. Norman Wilkinson explained in 1919 that he had intended dazzle primarily to mislead the enemy about a ship's course and cause them to take up a poor firing position.

Client: Sotheby’s Impressionist Art; Creative Directors: Sandra Burch,Jonathan Wills; Art Directors: Sandra Burch, Hannah Belken, Christina Freyss; Designers: Hannah Belken, Hannah Tsvayberg; Curator: Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s SVP, Co-Deputy Head of Department; Head of Evening Sales, NY; Production Manager: Sotheby’s - FMG Richard Walton; Vendors: Top Notch Graphics Suzanne Camhi; Kirkwood Printing Craig Wenrich