WWI Custom Masks
In this article, Lillie Olson talks about how Anna Coleman Ladd changed WWI veterans' after-war lives.
Embedded Files
WWI Customized Veteran Masks
WWI Customized Veteran Masks
Written by Lillie Olson
Written by Lillie Olson
World War I lasted four years: from July 28, 1914 to Nov. 11, 1918. The fight was based on a long series of miscalculated events that led to unanticipated consequences. The main reasons for the war were countries' Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. Being called "the war to end wars," it radically changed the map with new countries forming, old country borders being modified and some countries even disappearing. It was based on trench warfare, with the widespread use of gas, bombs, tanks and artillery. This led to an abundance of physical impairments for the surviving veterans. Due to the deformities sustained in the war, many did not feel like they could properly be a part of society without being seen as monsters.
As a solution, Anna Coleman Ladd turned her artistic skills into a patriotic act. Using prosthetics, she created sculpted masks for returning veterans. Plastic surgery was rarely a viable solution for these soldiers to turn to, so her products and concept grew as an option. A branch in the American Red Cross was made specifically for her projects: The American Red Cross Studio for Portrait Masks for Mutilated Soldiers. Her work made major medical advances for the time period. Soldiers came to her with a variety of cases. Some had missing noses, jaws, and eyes. According to Gardner Museum, masks were not a fix to their shrapnel injuries and scars but could cover them up and make them feel more mentally comfortable while in public. These masks were a step in the direction of aiding mental illnesses left from the war.
Photo Credit: Youtube.com
The studio of portrait masks was opened in Paris in 1918. Anna Coleman Ladd and her assistants made 185 handcrafted masks and facial prostheses after the war. Based on a history page, @femalequotient on Instagram Reels that was fact-checked, to begin the process, the soldiers would come to her to get a mold or cast out of clay or plasticine of their face post-war. The subjects would provide photos of reference previous to the war for Anna to examine as she made the masks. The final masks were commonly made out of very thinned-out copper that she hand-painted. She embellished each so they would fit as closely to the man's face as they could go. By preference, she would include facial hair, such as eyebrows, eyelashes and mustaches. For this, she used real hair that either matched theirs or, if possible, she used their own hair. Each mask took around a month to create. Some soldiers came to her before they ever even ventured home, so as to keep their family from seeing the damages.
Letters were found written to Anna about her aid to the soldiers. In a time period where those who came home from war with a missing limb were deemed heroes, however those who came home with missing faces were seen as monsters, people tended to forget that the fact these soldiers made it out of that war at all was an astounding circumstance. From History War, one man wrote, "Thank you, I will have a home. The woman I love no longer finds me repulsive, as she has a right to do." Heartbreakingly, situations like his were not an uncommon occurrence.
Photo Credit: NewYorkTimes.com
When the customers stopped coming as often, Anna returned to her art-based work as a sculptor. In 1922, the French government honored her by announcing her to be a Chevalier of Legion Honour. This was the highest order of merit for both military and civil acts. With her work, Anna created a way to reinsert soldiers into society and possibly save them from further detrimental mental illness, due to societal judgment.
Sources:
Sources:
Page updated
Report abuse