Lot 5841

Description

Anzac Cove print, in colour (approx 12.5x9cm), mapped framed under glass in a timber frame (22x18cm), below the painting is written in ink, at the left 'Anzac Cove' and at the right it is signed, 'Sapper. H Moore-Jones.', probably one of a series of prints of his watercolours which he sold as he toured New Zealand. Very fine.

Horace Millichamp Moore-Jones, an Englishman, who put down his age by ten years to enlist with NZEF in WWI, was a prolific artist. He produced many sketches until his drawing hand was injured. Wounded and declared medically unfit he was sent to England to recuperate and while doing so he produced about 80 watercolours of his war experiences. He returned to New Zealand in 1917 and toured the country showing his wartime paintings. In 1918 he painted the historic 'Man with a Donkey', the famous Simpson and his donkey image. He offered his entire war related collection to the New Zealand government but they refused to pay for it so he sold it to the Australian government and it is now in the Australian War Memorial. Moore-Jones died at Hamilton, New Zealand in 1922 from burns suffered while he rescued people from a fire at the Hamilton Hotel where he was a guest. He had escaped safely but returned to the burning building and helped save several people but in doing so he suffered terrible injuries to his own body.