| Summary: | This study is an attempt to probe into the value of paintings as historical evidence by locating the investigation in the realm of history from below. The article suggests a new reading of Canadian artist Mary Riter Hamilton’s immediate post-war paintings and their significance in mirroring her take on the war by exploring details of her life based on her biography. I transcend the literal iconographical interpretation of her images and attempt to delve into the ambivalent angle of the painter’s psychological impact on her works of art which was largely under-acknowledged in the recent historiography. The paper tackles the main problematic of how the conscious and unconscious in Hamilton’s paintings are yoked to create a visual historical text. It is argued that War Material’s, Sanctuary Wood, Flanders’ and Albert (Somme) Route d’Amiens’ connotations are more complex than solely representing the historical aftermath of the global conflict or the inter-war sentiments of sacrifice, victimhood, patriotism and commemoration. This investigation goes beyond these dimensions. It is anchored around one key theme of aesthesiology by tapping into the paintings through the prism of emotion. I examine the sub-themes of fear, anxiety and trauma which are the common denominator in the three paintings.
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