WHERE THE WOUNDED WERE BROUGHT

Morgan, Wallace (1875–1948) [Attributed]

FIRST AID STATION, FRANCE, APRIL 9, 1919 [AEF War Artist] [World War I Medical Scene] [Press Photograph of a Wartime Drawing]

A FRONTLINE DRESSING STATION CAPTURED BY AN OFFICIAL AMERICAN WAR ARTIST
A powerful large-format press photograph reproducing a wartime drawing attributed to Wallace Morgan, one of the official artists attached to the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War. The image depicts a frontline first aid station built into a roadside culvert or ditch, where wounded American soldiers receive treatment amid the devastation of the Western Front.

Created from a charcoal and wash drawing and later distributed through a news-photo service, the image bridges documentary journalism and war art. It presents battlefield medicine not through heroic combat but through the quieter realities of evacuation, treatment, and survival at the front.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Original silver-gelatin press photograph on single-weight photographic paper. Large format, image measuring approximately 7.5 x 5.875 inches (19.1 x 14.9 cm). Depicts a medical dressing station for wounded soldiers built into a roadside culvert. American soldiers are shown receiving treatment while orderlies, medical personnel, and attendants work within the protected shelter. A Red Cross ambulance is visible in the background above the dugout position.

Lower right retains a small printed news-service caption slug, partially trimmed. Verso bears a contemporary pencil caption identifying the scene as a first aid station in France and dating it April 9, 1919.

CONDITION: Very Good. Faint edge waviness and two tiny chips at the lower right margin. Upper right corner folded. Minor handling wear consistent with newsroom or archive use. Image remains bold and visually striking.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
+++ Depicts frontline medical treatment during the closing months of World War I
+++ Attributed to official AEF artist Wallace Morgan
+++ Features wounded soldiers, medical personnel, and Red Cross ambulance
+++ Distributed as a contemporary press photograph from an original drawing
+++ Combines war art, journalism, and military history
+++ Contemporary verso caption and news-service issue characteristics

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — 
This image documents the treatment of wounded soldiers at a roadside dressing station on the Western Front, emphasizing the often-overlooked realities of battlefield medicine rather than combat itself.

Attributed to official AEF war artist Wallace Morgan, the drawing was reproduced as a press photograph and circulated shortly after the Armistice, bringing scenes of wartime service and sacrifice to the American public.

SUBJECTS: Wallace Morgan, American Expeditionary Forces, Battlefield Medicine, World War I Medical Services, France 1919, Red Cross Ambulance, War Artists, Trench Warfare, Military Hospitals, Medical Corps, Press Photography, Western Front, Military Illustration, American Military History, World War I History, Military Art, Press Photography, Visual Journalism.

Item #21148

Price: $125.00