Tag Archives: Art

Wartime Watercolours: The Art of Dr. Hans-Ulrich Roll, Part I

The scene is calm: a solitary watchtower overlooking Muskoka Bay. The silhouette of at least one person – maybe two – keeping a watch on the surroundings can be seen through the tower’s windows while the Union Jack flies from a nearby flagpole. While the surroundings seem peaceful, even serene, the view remained just outContinue reading “Wartime Watercolours: The Art of Dr. Hans-Ulrich Roll, Part I”

Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part II

This is the second post exploring the art of Otto Ellmaurer, a German-Canadian civilian interned in Canada during the Second World War. Missed the first part? Check it out by clicking here. Continuing from last week’s, today’s post looks at more of Otto Ellmaurer’s cartoons, although these ones take a more joking look into internmentContinue reading “Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part II”

Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part I

When Otto Ellmaurer arrived in Kananaskis, Alberta in July 1940, the forty-one year old was not there to admire the majestic Rocky Mountains. Instead, he was a prisoner of war, a civilian internee detained as a potential threat to national security and he would spend almost five years behind barbed wire. To help pass theContinue reading “Kananaskis Cartoons: The Art of Otto Ellmaurer – Part I”

Prisoners and Prints: A Linocut from Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)

For the many talented artists who were interned in Canada during the Second World War, their internment provided them with opportunities to continue and hone their craft. Thanks to aid organizations like the War Prisoners’ Aid of the YMCA and the International Red Cross, prisoners had access to art supplies in internment camps and manyContinue reading “Prisoners and Prints: A Linocut from Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)”

An Update to “Seeing Double: POW Artists at Camp 133 (Ozada)

Last week, I published a post about two paintings that depicted the same scene at Camp 133 at Ozada, Alberta. As the existence of two paintings showing the same scene prompted many questions, I asked if anyone had other copies. And, within twenty-four hours of my original post, a reader had forwarded a third paintingContinue reading “An Update to “Seeing Double: POW Artists at Camp 133 (Ozada)”

Seeing Double: POW Artists at Camp 133 (Ozada)

Updated March 7, 2022 Scenes from Camp 133 at Ozada remain among the most popular depicted by POW artists (for more on POW art, click here to read some of my earlier posts). The camp was one of Canada’s largest, holding over 12,500 POWs by November 1942, and among those interned were a number ofContinue reading “Seeing Double: POW Artists at Camp 133 (Ozada)”

Christmas in Canada, 1941

As part of their efforts to help POWs interned in Canada, the War Prisoners’ Aid of the YMCA printed and distributed thousands of Christmas cards each year for POWs and internees in the country. Calls for art submissions were issued to internment camps and POW artists submitted sketches, paintings, and linocuts in the chance ofContinue reading “Christmas in Canada, 1941”

Christmas at Camp 70 – Fredericton

The sketch above was submitted to War Prisoners’ Aid for consideration of being printed as one of the annual Christmas cards produced by the organization and distributed to PoWs in Canada. The artist, Rudi Boege, was a civilian internee at Camp 70 (Fredericton, NB) and, as the spokesman described, one of the most gifted artistsContinue reading “Christmas at Camp 70 – Fredericton”

“K.G. Lager 133 – Ozada, Kanada 1942”

Camp 133 near Ozada, Alberta seems to have been among the most popular locations for Prisoners of War in Canada to paint during the Second World War. Situated on the Mortley Flats, the camp offered stunning views of the nearby Rocky Mountains and, despite living in tents during a wet summer and cold fall, wasContinue reading ““K.G. Lager 133 – Ozada, Kanada 1942””