Along the Road at Belleau Wood

Lester Hornby notes in a letter dated 29 July 1918 that, once he received his photographic permit granting his passage to the front, he immediately left for Chateau-Thierry. His convoy went past Belleau Wood, which had seen such ferocity in fighting by the Marine Corps the month before. Hornby wrote: “We had gone through Belleau Woods where the fighting had torn almost every tree to shreds. There were still Germans dead in the woods, and a number of hastily made graves of Americans who had turned the Boche advance into a retreat.” Hornby’s composition creates both a gaping dark cold hole as the road passes by the graves and some small shelter for the dead. The curve of the branch in the center of the etching seems to beckon you into an unknown eerie world. Hornby writes on the etching: “Bois de Belleau Wood, July 1918, along the road at Belleau Wood.”

Biography: Lester George Hornby studied at the Pape School of Arts in Boston, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Students League in New York City. In 1906, he began traveling and studying in France, creating his first copper engravings. He received international recognition for his artistry as an engraver. When war was declared in 1914, Hornby was living in France. He returned to Boston and in 1916 went back to France to live and work. After the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, Hornby obtained a pass to allow him to travel to the front lines. He did over 50 drawings and sketches a day. In his later years, he focused on teaching and rarely exhibited his works.

Biography: Lester George Hornby studied at the Pape School of Arts in Boston, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Students League in New York City. In 1906, he began traveling and studying in France, creating his first copper engravings. He received international recognition for his artistry as an engraver. When war was declared in 1914, Hornby was living in France. He returned to Boston and in 1916 went back to France to live and work. After the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, Hornby obtained a pass to allow him to travel to the front lines. He did over 50 drawings and sketches a day. In his later years, he focused on teaching and rarely exhibited his works.