Making Soldiers The Gas Mask by Eric Kennington

Eric Kennington's unflinching lithograph documents the grim reality of modern warfare transformed into disciplined routine. A soldier methodically practises donning his gas mask whilst comrades prepare behind him, a scene that strips away romanticism to reveal the professional competence required to survive chemical warfare.

Kennington captures the trench environment not as a hellscape of mud and despair, but as a place where training and vigilance meant the difference between life and death. This 1917 government commission honours the ordinary soldier's extraordinary adaptation to unprecedented horrors, presenting gas mask drills as acts of survival and duty. The print reveals how Britain's propaganda machinery acknowledged the war's brutal innovations whilst celebrating the resilience and professionalism of those who faced them.

• Own this limited-edition work and possess a stark, dignified portrait of courage in the age of chemical weapons.
• This original print, part of the Efforts and Ideals series limited edition of lithographic prints, has agreement to be sold to raise funds for IWM's collection Art department and more copies have been retained in our storage.