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ONE
MAN’S
WAR
-
George
Bain
in
the
Balkans
1917-1918
The
work
of
the
artist
George
Bain
(1881-1968)
gives
us
a
personal
view
of
life
on
the
Balkan
Front
during
World
War
I.
100
years
ago
this
year,
Bain
joined
the
British
Salonika
Force
in
Macedonia
and
Bulgaria.
Bain
was
initially
a
draughtsman
in
the
Royal
Engineers,
but
soon
found
his
artistic
skills
put
to
other
use.
He
made
stage
sets
and
costumes
for
the
army
theatre
and
may
have
drawn
maps
of
the
enemy
lines.
In
his
spare
time
he
painted
landscapes
and
local
people.
He
also
drew
cartoons
that
poked
fun
at
army
life.
His
pictures
show
life,
colour,
and
the
view
of
an
ordinary
soldier
in
contrast
to
official
accounts
of
the
Balkan
Front.
Leave
exhibition
Overview
of
exhibition
layout
Click
on
the
overview
to
the
left
to
take
a
wide
view
of
the
exhibition
space
and
navigate
around
Click
on
the
picture
above
to
start
your
tour
with
“Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front”
OUR
BOOK
AND
GIFT
SHOP
Before
you
leave……
Don’t
forget
to
have
a
look
at
our
selection
of
books
relating
to
George
Bain,
Celtic
art
and
the
history
of
the
Picts
and
of
Scotland.
In
our
shop
you
will
find
lots
of
relevant
gifts
at
a
wide
range
of
prices
-
from
postcards
to
pieces
of
jewellery
and
hand
crafted
items.
Leave
exhibition
ONE
MAN’S
WAR
-
George
Bain
in
the
Balkans
1917-1918
The
work
of
the
artist
George
Bain
(1881-1968)
gives
us
a
personal
view
of
life
on
the
Balkan
Front
during
World
War
I.
100
years
ago
this
year,
Bain
joined
the
British
Salonika
Force
in
Macedonia
and
Bulgaria.
Bain
was
initially
a
draughtsman
in
the
Royal
Engineers,
but
soon
found
his
artistic
skills
put
to
other
use.
He
made
stage
sets
and
costumes
for
the
army
theatre
and
may
have
drawn
maps
of
the
enemy
lines.
In
his
spare
time
he
painted
landscapes
and
local
people.
He
also
drew
cartoons
that
poked
fun
at
army
life.
His
pictures
show
life,
colour,
and
the
view
of
an
ordinary
soldier
in
contrast
to
official
accounts
of
the
Balkan
Front.
Leave
exhibition
Back
to
introduction
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
Salonika
and
Athens
(display
hidden
from
this
view)
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
(Alcove)
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
When
the
war
is
o’er
and
Pte
Bain
returns
Inside
view
of
army
life
Gaiety
Theatre
You
are
here!
(shown
red)
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
Drypoint
etching
Stairs
down
When
the
war
is
o’er
Use
the
mouse
to
browse
through
the
panorama
of
the
exhibition
above,
or
use
the
map
to
the
left
-
click
on
the
black
bars
to
select
items
for
closer
view
WELCOME
TO
GROAM
HOUSE
MUSEUM
The
downstairs
exhibition
to
your
left
focuses
on
the
Picts
of
Rosemarkie.
From
the
700s
AD
onwards,
the
centre
for
Christianity
for
the
Inner
Moray
Firth
was
in
this
area.
Upstairs
is
our
summer
exhibition
-
“One
Man’s
War”
-
George
Bain
in
the
Balkans
1917-1918,
featuring
watercolours,
drypoint
etching
and
lino
prints
of
people
and
landcapes
from
the
Balkans
at
that
time.
Also
in
the
museum
is
our
shop,
which
includes
a
well-selected
range
of
gifts
and
crafts
at
a
range
of
prices,
and
a
wide
range
of
books
on
the
Picts,
Scottish
history
and
Celtic
art.
We
are
an
independent
museum,
staffed
by
volunteers,
and
dependent
on
donations
and
sales
to
keep
going.
Please
support
us.
Leave
exhibition
Exhibition
of
Pictish
stones
Museum
shop
Attendant
desk
Donations
box
Museum
shop
(books)
Upstairs
to
exhibition
Welcome
panel
You
are
here!
(shown
red)
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
Drypoint
etching
When
the
war
is
o’er
Use
the
mouse
to
browse
through
the
panorama
of
the
exhibition
above,
or
use
the
map
to
the
left
-
click
on
the
black
bars
to
select
items
for
closer
view
LANDSCAPES
OF
THE
BALKAN
FRONT
Bain’s
landscape
paintings
show
the
tough
terrain
of
the
Balkan
Front.
The
marshes,
mountains
and
ravines
forced
the
opposing
armies
to
a
stalemate
in
early
1917.
The
Bulgarian
army
had
created
strong
military
positions
in
the
mountains
along
the
Bulgarian,
Serbian
and
Macedonian
(Greek)
border
after
capturing
Serbia
in
1915.
Their
next
aim
was
to
take
Macedonia,
which
had
a
large
Bulgarian
population.
The
British,
French,
Italian,
Russian
and
Serbian
armies
built
trenches
and
camps
in
the
gullies
and
ravines
of
the
foothills
to
oppose
them.
The
cold
mountain
winters
made
frostbite
common.
In
contrast,
in
the
hot
summers
the
mountain
camps
became
semi
desert.
Troops
who
had
moved
away
from
the
front
line
to
the
battalion
reserve
on
the
marshy
plains
caught
malaria.
Perhaps
it
was
because
of
this
hardship
that
Bain
painted
few
military
scenes,
preferring
the
landscape
itself
and
the
changing
skies.
Back
to
introduction
“Sedemli”
from
Crow
Hill,
Macedonia
Watercolour
Fountain
at
Kalinova
Watercolour
Struma
Watercolour
Ravine
near
Kilo
68
Watercolour
Camp
near
Mahmudli.
Two
tents.
Watercolour
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Near
Mahmudli,
Sunday
15
th
July
1917.
Watercolour
Map
of
area
of
the
Balkans
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
on
the
map
to
the
right
to
view
a
different
section
of
the
exhibition
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
Drypoint
etching
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
Macedonian
Waterbarrow
Drypoint
etching
THE
BALKANS
IN
MICROCOSM
Bain
was
fascinated
by
the
people
he
met
in
the
Balkans.
His
incredibly
detailed
portraits
show
a
way
of
life
based
on
subsistence
farming.
Although
everything
looks
peaceful
in
Bain’s
portraits
this
was
far
from
the
case.
The
mixture
of
ethnic
groups
that
he
recorded
in
the
titles
of
his
portraits
had
played
a
role
in
the
1912
and
1913
Balkan
wars,
as
well
as
World
War
One.
At
the
beginning
of
the
1900s
Orthodox
Slavs,
Catholic
and
Islamic
Albanians,
Turks,
Jews,
Roma,
Vlachs
and
others
all
lived
in
Macedonia,
part
of
the
Ottoman
empire.
As
the
Ottoman
Empire
broke
up,
this
ethnic
mix
allowed
surrounding
nationalist
governments
to
make
claims
to
Macedonia.
Tens
of
thousands
of
people
became
refugees
in
the
wars
that
followed.
We
do
not
know
whether
the
“Arab
Turks”,
“Laughing
Turk”,
“Macedonian
Girl”
and
others
pictured
by
Bain
were
displaced
or
not.
Back
to
introduction
Untitled
print
showing
girl
spinning
Litho
print
A
Greek
Girl
Drypoint
etching
Laughing
Turk
Drypoint
etching
A
Macedonian
Girl
Drypoint
etching
Arab
Turks,
Macedonia
Drypoint
etching
A
Swine
Herd,
Macedonia
Watercolour
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Pavlos,
a
Greek
Boy
Drypoint
etching
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
Balkans
in
Microcosm
Drypoint
etching
When
the
war
is
o’er
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
SALONIKA
AND
ATHENS
In
periods
of
leave
away
from
the
front
line
Bain
travelled
to
Salonika
(Thessaloniki)
and
Athens
to
sketch
and
paint.
He
was
drawn
to
the
old
towns
and
ancient
monuments.
In
Salonika,
however,
he
was
not
allowed
to
sketch
the
sea
front
and
the
harbour.
These
were
important
parts
of
the
army’s
supply
base
so
officers
may
have
worried
about
Bain’s
pictures
falling
into
enemy
hands.
Back
to
introduction
The
Acropolis,
Athens
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Tower,
Old
City
Wall,
Salonika
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
on
the
map
to
the
right
to
view
other
sections
of
the
exhibition.
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
AN
INSIDE
VIEW
OF
ARMY
LIFE
Bain’s
cartoons
about
the
fictional
Private
Binks
poke
fun
at
the
routines
of
army
life.
Bain
imagines
Private
Binks
finding
it
hard
to
fit
back
in
to
normal
life
in
Britain.
By
showing
Private
Binks
continuing
army
routines
in
normal
life,
Bain
shows
how
strange
they
were.
Some
of
the
cartoons
subvert
the
army’s
hierarchy
so
we
imagine
that
Bain
drew
the
cartoon
for
his
own
amusement
or
that
of
people
close
to
him.
Back
to
introduction
Cartoon
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Three
small
cartoons
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
on
the
map
to
the
right
to
view
another
part
of
the
exhibition
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
THE
GAIETY
THEATRE
Bain
designed
sets
and
dress
for
“Robinson
Crusoe”
and
“Delightful”
for
the
army’s
Gaiety
Theatre
in
the
Balkans.
His
designs
show
how
much
can
be
achieved
in
a
giant
tent,
not
far
from
the
front
line.
The
theatre
gave
soldiers
a
way
to
relax
after
tense
time
on
the
front
line.
It
was
so
popular
that
battalion
headquarters
had
to
order
soldiers
not
to
sneak
in
without
a
ticket.
Costume
and
set
designs
for
the
revue
“Delightful”
Lent
by
the
Bain
family
Album
of
photographs
of
costumes
and
sets
designed
by
George
Bain
for
the
review
“Delightful”
Lent
by
the
Bain
family
Back
to
introduction
Album
of
photographs
of
costumes
and
sets
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Costumes
and
sets
for
the
revue
“Delightful”
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
in
the
map
to
the
right
to
view
other
parts
of
the
exhibition
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
DRYPOINT
ETCHING
To
make
a
drypoint
etching,
Bain
scratched
fine
lines
into
a
metal
plate
using
a
sharp
tool.
When
the
plate
was
covered
in
ink
and
wiped
clean,
the
scratches
held
the
ink.
The
plate
and
paper
were
rolled
through
a
press
to
transfer
the
ink
to
the
paper.
Back
to
introduction
Shepherd
boy
with
crook,
Drypoint
plate
Grinding
corn
-
Drypoint
plate
and
print
Text,
as
shown
at
right
Boy
with
eggs.
Drypoint
plate
Rural
scene
with
young
boy
on
donkey.
Drypoint
plate
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
in
the
map
above
and
right
to
view
other
sections
of
the
exhibition
Salonika
and
Athens
Onside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
You
are
here!
(shown
in
red)
Click
on
the
black
bars
to
move
round
the
exhibition
space
Back
to
overview
Overview
of
exhibition
layout
Click
on
the
overview
to
take
a
wide
view
of
the
exhibition
space
and
navigate
around
MANX
PARLIAMENT
RUG
Manufactured
by
Quayle
Carpets
Ltd,
1979,
to
a
Celtic
design
attributed
to
George
Bain.
The
rug
is
one
of
a
limited
edition.
It
is
based
on
a
carpet
commissioned
by
Tynwald,
the
Manx
parliament,
to
celebrate
the
millennium
of
its
founding
in
979AD.
The
Queen
came
to
open
the
parliament
in
1979
and
was
believed
to
prefer
blue
to
red,
so
both
the
rung
and
carpet
had
a
blue
background.
ROMGH
2012.3.2
Click
on
the
picture
to
return
to
the
panoramic
overview
of
the
exhibition
Move
mouse
over
magnifying
glass
to
enlarge
or
reduce
picture.
WHEN
THE
WAR
IS
O’ER
AND
PTE
BAIN
RETURNS…
Bain’s
World
War
One
service
had
a
long
impact
on
his
artistic
work
once
he
returned
to
Scotland
in
early
1919.
His
Balkan
drawings
and
paintings
were
central
to
the
way
he
promoted
his
artistic
work.
Until
the
late
1920s
most
of
the
work
Bain
showed
drew
on
his
Balkan
war
service.
He
exhibited
Balkan
work
at
the
Paris
Salon
in
1922
and
1925
and
at
the
Royal
Scottish
Academy
in
1927
and
1929.
Bain
also
sought
to
sell
his
Balkan
work
-
a
price
list
includes
79
Balkan
drawings
and
watercolour
paintings.
Groam
House
Museum
holds
a
number
of
his
Balkan
drypoint
impressions
with
prices
marked
on
them.
George
Bain
often
took
one
image
and
created
versions
in
different
media.
This
allowed
him
to
experiment
but
it
may
also
have
meant
that
he
had
more
work
to
sell,
to
supplement
his
art
teacher’s
salary.
Although
Bain
became
famous
for
his
method
of
teaching
Celtic
art,
his
drypoints
still
sell
at
auction
today.
Back
to
introduction
Untitled
drypoint
etching
Descriptive
text
shown
right
Hans
Gradesnica,
Bulgaria
Move
mouse
over
the
display
above
for
title
of
each
picture;
click
on
images
to
see
detail.
Click
on
the
black
bars
on
the
map
to
the
right
to
view
other
parts
of
the
exhibition.
Salonika
and
Athens
Inside
view
of
army
life
Introduction
-
One
Man’s
War
Gaiety
Theatre
The
Balkans
in
Microcosm
When
the
war
is
o’er
Drypoint
etching
Manx
parliament
rug
Landscapes
of
the
Balkan
Front
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CAMP
NEAR
MAHMUDLI,
JULY
1917
Bain
painted
just
a
few
military
scenes
during
his
service
in
the
Balkans.
Here
we
see
the
typical
bell-shaped
tents
of
an
army
camp
in
the
arid
semi-desert
landscape
of
high
summer.
Bain
recorded
place
names
for
most
of
his
paintings;
Mahmudli
was
about
12
miles
from
the
front
line.
Camp
near
Mahmudli,
two
tents
Watercolour
ROMGH.2010.3.13
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CAMP
NEAR
MAHMUDLI,
JULY
1917
Bain
painted
just
a
few
military
scenes
during
his
service
in
the
Balkans.
Here
we
see
the
typical
bell-shaped
tents
of
an
army
camp
in
the
arid
semi-desert
landscape
of
high
summer.
Bain
recorded
place
names
for
most
of
his
paintings;
Mahmudli
was
about
12
miles
from
the
front
line.
Near
Mahmudli,
Sunday
15
th
July
1917
Watercolour
ROMGH.2010.3.14
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Balkan
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SEDEMLI
FROM
CROW
HILL,
MACEDONIA
These
mountains
formed
the
front
line
of
the
war.
The
rough
terrain
meant
that
opposing
armies’
trenches
were
within
a
mile
of
each
other.
Names
like
“Crow
Hill”
and
“Piccadilly
Circus”
avoided
using
a
foreign
language
and
sometimes
brought
an
element
of
dark
humour
to
the
front.
Watercolour
GHMT.2017.12
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Balkan
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introduction
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Landscapes
on
the
Balkan
Front
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RAVINE
NEAR
KILO
68
Steep,
deep
ravines
were
common
in
the
mountains
around
the
front
line.
The
ravines
formed
both
barriers
between
the
armies
and
routes
for
moving
around
out
of
enemy
sight.
Bain
may
have
been
familiar
with
Kilo
68
in
his
role
as
a
map
maker;
it
is
a
distance
marker
on
the
road
to
Serres
Watercolour
ROMGH.2010.3.9
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STRUMA
Marshy
areas
like
that
around
the
idyllic
looking
Struma
(Strymónas)
river
were
breeding
grounds
for
mosquitos.
As
a
result
malaria
was
a
common
disease
among
soldiers.
Soldiers
were
ordered
to
sleep
in
mosquito
nets
and
take
regular
doses
of
quinine
to
try
to
stop
the
loss
of
soldiers
to
the
front
line.
Watercolour
ROMGH.2010.3.45
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FOUNTAIN
AT
KALINOVA
Kalinova
was
the
site
of
the
army’s
Gaiety
Theatre,
for
which
Bain
made
sets
and
costumes.
The
actors
and
musicians
lived
in
the
village.
Kalinova
was
also
the
site
of
the
brigade
baths.
Battalion
orders
state
that
up
to
120
soldiers
could
bathe
each
hour.
Watercolour
ROMGH.2010.3.21
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introduction
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Landscapes
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Balkan
Front
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RURAL
LIFE
People
who
lived
in
the
Macedonian
countryside
were
employed
by
the
army
in
tasks
such
as
building
roads.
Bain,
however,
depicts
only
day-to-day
farming
life.
He
may
have
been
forbidden
from
showing
military
activities.
Bain’s
Balkan
pictures
often
show
tasks
that
were
subtly
different
from
those
of
rural
Scotland.
The
mule
(in
“A
Macedonian
Waterbarrow”)
is
shown
carrying
water
-
essential
in
the
dry
Balkan
summer
but
rarely
in
Scotland!
A
Swineherd,
Macedonia,
1917
Watercolour
GHMT.2017.3
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microcosm”
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