AUSTRALIAN MILITARY Australian Art –
Ivor Henry Thomas Hele enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 29 June 1940, hoping to be appointed an official war artist.
Enlisting as a private in the 2/48th Battalion, Hele met with General Sir Thomas Blamey not long after arriving in the Middle East. In January 1941, he was allotted for duty as an official war artist of the AIF.
His appointment differed to that of other official war artists. Hele was already an enlisted member of the AIF, rather than being appointed by the Department of Information or the War Memorial Board.
This difference meant that rather than receiving the usual rate of pay of two guineas per day, Hele was paid according to his military rank.
All works he completed were to become property of the Commonwealth, and he was given the freedom to move within the field, a flexibility not afforded to other official war artists.
- 112 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 22 x 26 cm. #040426