Autumn

Despite gaining a reputation for heroism in battle, the loss of youthful life in the death and destruction of the First World War was Sassoon's key preoccupation.

In this work based on Sassoon's poem Autumn, Barrett illustrates the seasonal metaphor of a 'westering furnace' into which the lives of youthful soldiers are blown like autumn leaves as a large stain of blood that sits above the barren landscape as though it were a setting sun.

In the final lines of the poem Sassoon reflects upon his own role in this devastation, both as an officer with responsibility for leading men into battle, and as a soldier responsible for inflicting casualties on the opposing side.