Brushes With War is a unique history of World War I in broad brush strokes. Over 230 original paintings, drawings, sculpture, and trench art by the combatants of World War I cover all aspects of the war and most major battles from Mons (1914) to the Meuse-Argonne (1918). The artists were American, Austrian, Australian, Belgian, British, Canadian, French, German, and Russian soldiers. These were not professional artists, but amateurs depicting their own daily struggles as they saw them. Just as snapshot photos are often more realistic than posed professional portraits, these works of art are more genuine impressions of the war than the official art and illustrations of the time.