Military Illustration Gallery

Military illustration between 1880 and 1920 included graphic depictions of war, both photographic and artwork. Some of the artwork from that period most inspirational to designers today is of uniforms and equipment.

Military uniforms of various nations evolved from the gaudy tunics, brass buttons, and bright ribbons of the Napoleonic era to the drab, almost colorless uniforms of World War I.

American magazines commissioned illustrators to create accurate renderings of soldiers and military equipment for both fiction stories and documentary accounts of battles and wars.

Their assignments led artists to search back in historical archives to find details of ancient soldiers' gear and weapons. An illustrator might be asked to draw a modern American battle tank one week, a Roman legionnaire the next week, and a Russian horse-mounted Cossack the next.

The first part of this Gallery features uniforms from various wars. Later additions will include military equipment and weapons.

You can find in the Image Galleries other examples of Military Illustration.