The artwork held in the collection was produced by official British war artists under commission from the Ministry of Information and the Imperial War Museum. Well-known figures such as John Lavery and Muirhead Bone feature among the artists, in addition to some of the most avant-garde artists of the time, like Paul Nash, and women artists including Beatrice Lithiby and Anna Airy. Subjects include aerial combat, battlefields, soldiers, prisoners, the medical services, women at work, the war at sea and dazzle camouflage, and the ruined towns of northern Europe.