Offering a glimpse into the richness and diversity of Canada's post-Second World War military art, A Brush with War features 30 extraordinary paintings from the Canadian War Museum and other collections. An introduction and four historic overviews covering the period 1946-2008 provide thoughtful contexts for detailed descriptions of historic paintings by Canadian artists including Alex Colville, A. Y. Jackson, and Pegi Nicol MacLeod and contemporary military masterpieces by Gertrude Kearns, William MacDonnell, Allan Harding MacKay, and Scott Waters.

The unique artworks featured in these pages bear witness not only to Canadian military history, but also to a longstanding and ongoing commitment to create a visual record of that history as it happens. The book shows how Canada's two post-Second World War official art programs have allowed artists to expand the boundaries of military art in diverse and important directions, including highly personal responses to the complex realities of Canada's military operations abroad.