These Shall Our Hearts Remember
Ewart attended the Glasgow School of Art before being awarded a travelling scholarship which he used to study in Italy and France. He gained a reputation as a portrait painter and exhibited regularly at the Royal Scottish Academy, becoming an Associate of the Academy in 1934. These Shall Our Hearts Remember was painted just ten years after the end of the First World War and strikingly illustrates the feelings of a generation decimated by the horrors of trench warfare. The soldiers are portrayed as monumental figures waiting in the trenches wearing their full fighting kit, grim and determined. Ewart has used a palette-knife to create sharp, angular marks with the paint, and employs dark lighting to add a sombre, uneasy atmosphere to the work. It is probable that the three soldiers represent the three emotional states of war. The left soldier is young and determined, as if unaware of the shocking scenes that await him. The middle soldier appears weary, with a 'knowing' look in his eyes. By contrast, the right soldier is slumped down in the background too tired and distraught to continue.
