That Cursed Wood

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson

1918 · Drypoint · Drawings and Prints

That Cursèd Wood portrays the horrific destruction of nature, and, by extension, of humanity, on the Western Front. Bleak and war-torn, this no-man’s-land is scarred by shells and punctuated by seared and mangled trees resembling grave markers. Above the pockmarked surface fly several airplanes that resemble giant insects or birds. The title derives from the 1916 poem "At Carnoy" by British writer and soldier Siegfried Sassoon, which tells of a brigade "crouched among thistle-tufts" as twilight fades. Despite the surroundings, the exhausted soldiers attempt to rest in preparation for the next day: "To-morrow we must go / To take some cursèd Wood . . . O world God made!"

Artist

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson

Date

1918

Medium

Drypoint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, Peco Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019