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((Masterpiece)), ((Oil painting)), ((Painterly realism)), ((Historical narrative art)), Simpson and his donkey trekking through a smoke-filled battlefield at golden hour, heroic yet understated, companionship and sacrifice emphasized, textured impasto brushwork, dappled lighting, high dynamic range, dramatic chiaroscuro, rich earth tones, dusty atmospheric haze, melancholic mood, cinematic composition, ultra-detailed, museum-grade texture, expressive anatomy, naturalistic fabric folds, noble emotional expression, period-accurate gear, subtle background figures, warm rim lighting, looming shadows, photorealistic highlights, war-torn environment, epic storytelling, inspired by John Singer Sargent, Ilya Repin, Nikolai Fechin, Igor Grabar, and Morgan Weistling
Simpson landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915 with the 3rd Field Ambulance as part of the 1st Australian Division.[2] In the early hours of the following day, as he was bearing a wounded comrade on his shoulders, he spotted a donkey and quickly began making use of it to carry his fellow soldiers. Simpson would sing and whistle, seeming to ignore the bullets flying through the air, while he tended to his comrades.
He used at least five different donkeys, known as "Duffy No. 1", "Duffy No. 2", "Murphy", "Queen Elizabeth" and "Abdul" at Gallipoli; some of the donkeys were killed and/or wounded in action. He and the donkeys soon became a familiar sight to the Anzacs, many of whom knew Simpson by the nicknames such as "Scotty" (in reference to his ancestry) and "Simmy". Simpson himself was also sometimes referred to as "Murphy". Other Anzac stretcher bearers began to emulate Simpson's use of the donkeys.
