NASH, Paul. British World War 1 soldier and war artist on using art to tell the "bitter truth" to warmongers

Paul Nash (11 May 1889 – 11 July 1946) was a British painter, surrealist, WW1 soldier and war artist (1917-1918) , as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nash_%28artist%29 ) .

Paul Nash, artist, on telling the truth to warmongers about war, writing to his wife from the WW1 Western Front front on 16 November 1917: "I am no longer an artist. I am a messenger who will bring back word from the men who are fighting to those who want the war to go on for ever. Feeble, inarticulate will be my message, but it will have a bitter truth and may it burn their lousy souls." [1, 2]

[1]. Paul Nash quoted in “Paul Nash (artist)”, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Nash_%28artist%29 .

[2]. Paul Nash quoted in Robert Hughes, “The Shock of the New” (Knopf, 1980), p59.