untitled (1914/VERDUN/1918)

Elizabeth Layton

1909–1993

untitled (1914/VERDUN/1918), 1984

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: wove paper; graphite; crayon

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 57 x 38.5 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 22 7/16 x 15 3/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 32 x 24 in

Credit line: Gift of Romalyn Tilghman and Don Lambert

Accession number: 2002.0200

Not on display

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Past Presence

Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton’s drawing untitled (1914/VERDUN/1918) wrestles with the subject of war and peace. The landscape includes depictions of a military graveyard, cannon, and nuclear power plant set in contrast to a flower-filled vase that serves as a memorial to the World War I Battle of Verdun. Layton turned seven years old during this ten-month-long battle that resulted in an estimated 700,000 casualties. She depicts herself in this work, inviting the viewer to consider the importance of understanding history as a matter of lived experience.

Archive Label 2003: Elizabeth Layton, a native of Wellsville, Kansas, is best known for the role that her works of art played in her remarkable recovery from depression. Her first drawings, which she began to create in 1977 at the age of 68, were difficult and uncompromising self-portraits. As she began to emerge from her depression, her art began to incorporate her social and political concerns. In this case she treats the subject of war and peace. Layton was a pacifist and, through her art, a committed social and political activist. Her treatment of the subject of war and peace evokes irreconcilable contrasts. She shows herself clad in camouflage clothing with a large peace symbol. The landscape with a military graveyard, canon and nuclear reactors is set in strong contrast to a World War I memorial vase with flowers whose white blossoms seem to become doves of peace which in turn alight around the artist. The vase is a memorial to the World War I Battle of Verdun, which resulted in an estimated 700,000 casualties