As part of the ‘Wor Life’ project we have been researching all our venues to see what was going on at each of them during the First World War. We’ve found some really interesting stories that we’ll be sharing over the next few weeks.

The entrance hall of the Laing Art Gallery, about 1916

During the difficult times of the First World War, art shows continued at the Laing Art Gallery and provided a welcome respite for many people. As the war went on, the Government toured several exhibitions around the country to inform and involve people in the war effort.

In March 1917, the Gallery showed an exhibition of Canadian Official War Photographs. Soldiers and sailors were admitted at half price, hospital patients got in free, and all profits went to the Canadian War Memorials Fund. This was followed by an exhibition of drawings by Muirhead Bone, sketched on the battlefields of the Western Front.