Mary Gatenby
Specialist
Lot 104
Gunner F J Mears(British, 1890-1929)Soldiers on a Battlefield at Night (unframed)
16 July 2025, 12:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £1,216 inc. premium
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India Ross
Cataloguer
Gunner F J Mears (British, 1890-1929)
Soldiers on a Battlefield at Night
signed and inscribed 'gnr. F.J Mears. BEF' (lower left)
ink and watercolour, heightened with silver, on paper, laid on card
11.5 x 18cm (4 1/2 x 7 1/16in).
(unframed)
signed and inscribed 'gnr. F.J Mears. BEF' (lower left)
ink and watercolour, heightened with silver, on paper, laid on card
11.5 x 18cm (4 1/2 x 7 1/16in).
(unframed)
Footnotes
Gunner F.J. Mears served in the British Expeditionary Force as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was medically discharged in 1917. A 'gunner' was responsible for operating artillery, usually 18-pounder and 60-pounder guns, and the rank is equivalent to that of a private. In the wake of the war, Mears was encouraged by his wife to draw scenes from the conflict, in part as a way of generating a small income for them to live on. The drawings produced by Mears are likely to depict the Somme or the Ypres Salient, where the artist saw action. As such, they are a rare insight into the dark reality of serving on the front lines from the perspective of one of the lowest ranking soldiers in the British Army. The works met with quick commercial success, and were acquired by collectors such as Lady Astor, who purchased drawings from the exhibition held at 20 Old Street, London, in 1920. Despite the success of the 1920 exhibition, very little is known of Mears' life, including his first name. Whilst the artist achieved limited recognition during his own lifetime, his depictions of war form a unique snapshot of one of the largest and most important conflicts of the 20th century. When signing his drawings, Mears often wrote upside down, as he did on this work, stating 'The whole of the World is upside down... Why then should my signature only be the right way up?' (The Daily News, 7 May 1920).
