For Anzac Day and Thursday Art day it’s a pleasure to share “Dog in a Gas Mask” by Peter Wegner winner of the 2013 Gallipoli Art Prize.
The horror of war is clearly depicted by Peter Wegner whose painting portrays the courage and devotion of our beloved dogs who figured prominently alongside their humans in wartime.

Man’s best friend in grip of war wins the 2013 Gallipoli Art Prize
Leigh van den Broeke – The Daily Telegraph – April 24, 2013 -12:00AM
http://www.heraldsun.com.au

2013 Gallipoli Art Prize winner Dog In A Gas Mask / Pic: Robert Barker Source: The Daily Telegraph

It is one of the most confronting images of war this Anzac Day – and it reminds us of warfare without depicting guns, trenches or injured soldiers. A dog with a gas mask tightly wrapped around its mouth and head has won the 2013 Gallipoli Art Prize.

Melbourne artist Peter Wegner created the image, which he titled simply Dog In A Gas Mask. “I’ve seen images of men and children in England wearing gas masks and people sitting around tables wearing gas masks, it’s all very strange,” Mr Wegner said. “When I saw them on the dogs I had that same feeling. This is a painting that uses the gas mask as a reference to war. If I take that gas mask off the dog, it’s a dog by itself in a void with no background or indication of war.

It’s the gas mask that makes you realise the horror of war and it was a deliberate intention not to include a theatre of war in the background. 

I think the painting ties into Anzac Day notions of mateship, friendship, courage and devotion, which is very significant for dogs. It’s the gas mask that makes you realise the horror of war and it was a deliberate intention not to include a theatre of war in the background.

“The dog would do anything for its owner.” Mr Wegner won the Doug Moran Prize in 2006 for painting his best mate Graham Doyle, who he had depicted more than 100 times over his life as an artist.

Dog In A Gas Mask resonated with Gallipoli Club director and judge Craig Hickey, who praised the artist for the simplicity and depth to his painting. “It’s not about trenches, guns, people lying injured, crosses or graves,” Mr Hickey said. “It’s about a different aspect of the war and there are so many aspects of war.

“It’s a beautiful painting.” Jane Watters, director of the SH Ervin Gallery in Sydney and a fellow judge, said: “It’s a disturbing image in a lot of ways, because it’s not how we think of dogs.

“(The painting) works on several levels for us.”