General Officers of World War I
- Artist: John Singer Sargent
- Date: 1922
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 118 in. x 208 in. (2997 mm x 5283 mm) overall
- Portrays: Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Louis Botha, Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, (Frederic) Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, Sir John Steven Cowans, Sir Arthur William Currie, Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell, Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Henry Sinclair Horne, Baron Horne, Sir Henry Timson Lukin, Sir William Marshall, Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, Sir John Monash, Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent, Sir William Robert Robertson, 1st Bt, Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell, Jan Christian Smuts, Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Bt, John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In “General Officers of World War I” John Singer Sargent stretches a single canvas to capture the faces of twenty‑two commanders. The painting sits tall, almost two metres high, and each figure is rendered in oil with careful brushwork that highlights the brass buttons, polished gloves, and neatly worn hats. Sargent’s direct studies give the generals a realistic silhouette against a plain architectural backdrop; no landscape distracts from their postures.
The work was commissioned by Sir Abraham Bailey as part of a trio of large group portraits meant to honour Britain’s wartime leaders. The canvas records the men who guided the army through the Great War, in an era still remembered for its scale and impact. Sargent himself once called the task “a nightmare,” yet his final result stands proud and clear.
See it in person
General Officers of World War I is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
