ART@AWM: introduction to the AWM art collection

In 1917 the Australian War Memorial initiated the Official
War Art (OWA) Scheme, which is now the longest running art
commissioning program in Australia.  Throughout its history
this scheme has worked with artists of the highest calibre and has produced one
of Australia’s most significant art collections. The OWA Scheme continues
today, and recent commissions to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and
Afghanistan have involved renowned artists such as Jon Cattapan, eX de Medici,
Charles Green and Lyndell Brown, Shaun Gladwell, Ben Quilty and Tony Albert.
Outside of the OWA scheme, the Memorial
pursues an active contemporary and historical art acquisition program, while
also conducting scholarly
research into the expansive collection now totalling almost 40,000 art works.