See How Face Masks Completely Changed Some Soldiers' Lives After WWI

Works of art, indeed.

Among the many horrors that hundreds of World War I veterans faced was the harsh reality of facial disfigurement.

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Some of the men had been so severely wounded that their faces were barely recognizable.

A little over 100 years ago, Anna Coleman Ladd decided to do something to improve the lives of these injured soldiers.

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She was an American sculptor who moved to France with her husband in 1917.

Anna was inspired by Francis Derwent Wood. He was also a sculptor who helped severely injured British soldiers with his “Tin Noses Shop.”

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Anna’s intentions were to restore the soldiers' self-esteems, as many were worried about how society would react to their new appearances.

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She founded a shop called "Studio for Portrait Masks" in Paris and, over a year and a half, she and her colleagues created over 100 handmade masks for French soldiers.

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Each mask cost an average of $18, although Anna's services were largely donated.

Surgery and skin grafting were also options back then, but Anna helped those soldiers whose facial injuries could not be reconstructed with surgery.

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Anna modeled her portrait masks from photographs taken before the soldiers were injured.

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She used oils to paint the features of the patient on her beautiful signature masks.

She started by creating a plaster cast of the injured soldier's face.

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Although some masks covered the entire face, most were partial, covering only the area of the face that had been damaged.

Anna was incredibly accommodating. If the soldier wanted a mustache, they got a mustache.

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Also, she would use things like wire ribbon to secure the mask in place if the patient refused to wear glasses.

The Red Cross was not able fund her studio when the war ended, so it regrettably closed.

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Anna returned to Boston, where she continued sculpting.

Due to her extraordinarily charitable work, Anna was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1932.

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More people like Anna, please!

For more on Anna's life and work be sure to check out her information page on the Smithsonian website.