In 1916, at age 38, Scotsman Muirhead Bone was drafted into the British Army not as a foot soldier, but as the first of many “war artists.”

His orders? Create work that would inspire citizens to contribute to the war effort and motivate neutral nations to join in.

One hundred years after Bone was enlisted, his images – and those of several other war artists – are on display in The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia. The newly opened exhibition, “THE GREAT WAR: Printmakers of World War I from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,” will run through Dec. 18.

Depicting battlefields and factories, soldiers and civilians, the drawings illustrate the grim might of a war effort unlike anything the world had seen before. They were part historical documentation and part propaganda, as Britain tried to convince the United States and other neutral nations to join its fight against the Central Powers.

“These works were supposed to instill pride and confidence in the public and show the greatness of industry,” said Stephen Margulies, a volunteer curator at The Fralin. “But the dark, heavy aspect of a war driven by massive industry is also expressed.”

The British War Propaganda Bureau formally established its Official War Artists initiative in May 1916, with Bone as the first recruit. Others followed, mostly artists and architects who had built established careers before the war. They dispersed across the battlefields of Europe, hovering just behind the front lines to create drawings that were printed and published in newspapers worldwide. Several were printed as portfolios or sets of etchings, which were presented as art exhibitions in England or the United States.

“Photography was beginning to appear in newspapers, but most were still hiring artists to do the work of photographers, or even work that smartphones would do today,” Margulies said. “In some ways, I believe these artists got closer to the reality of war than photography could. The prints were drawn by human hands and I think they express things that are missed by photographic imagery.”

“World War I brought so much destruction, but there was also tremendous creativity that came out of it,” Margulies said. “Many of the problems that were created by the war have still not been resolved, and in many ways I still believe that we are fighting parts of this war today.”

Kristie Couser from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will lead a Saturday Special Tour of the exhibition at The Fralin on Saturday at 2 p.m.

In addition to  “THE GREAT WAR” exhibition, The Fralin will feature exhibitions including “A Gift of Knowing: The Art of Dorothea Rockburne,” showcasing the Canadian artist’s work that is informed by mathematics and astronomy; Ann Gale: Portraits”, an exhibition of oil paintings and sketches; and “New Acquisitions: Photography” showcasing The Fralin’s expanding photography collection. Rockburne will visit the museum to give a talk, on Oct. 6.

The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia’s programming is supported by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.