American official war artists
Encyclopedia
American official war artists have been part of the American military since 1917. Artists are unlike the objective camera lens which records only a single instant and no more. The war artist captures instantaneous action and conflates earlier moments of the same scene within one compelling image.
In 1941, the Navy Combat Art Program was founded in order to ensure that competent artists would be present at the scene of history-making events. Eight active duty artists developed a record of all phases of World War II; and all major naval operations have been depicted by Navy artists. During the Korean War
, the program was revived with two military artists in combat contexts. Since then, artists have been sent to other combat zones, including the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. Army War Art Unit was established in late 1942; and by the spring of 1943, 42 artists were selected. In May 1943, Congress withdrew funding the unit was inactivated.
The Army's Vietnam Combat Art Program was started in 1966. Teams of soldier-artists created pictorial accounts and interpretations for the annals of army military history. These teams of five soldier-artists typically spent 60 days of temporary duty (TDY) in Vietnam embedded with various units. The U. S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) currently includes an Army Art Collection with about 40 representative war artists.
In 1992, the Army Staff Artist Program was attached to the United States Army Center of Military History. Army artists are a permanent part of the Museum Division's Collections Branch.
There are significant differences in the artwork created by the branches of the U.S. military:
and the work of American military artists includes both peacetime and wartime. For example, USMC combat artist Kristopher Battles
deployed with American forces in Haiti to provide humanitarian relief as part of Operation Unified Response
after the disastrous earthquake in 2010.
Soldier Artist Participants in the U. S. Army Vietnam Combat Artists Program
History
In World War I, eight artists commissioned as captains in the U.S. Corps of Engineers. These men were sent to Europe to record the activities of the American Expeditionary Forces.In 1941, the Navy Combat Art Program was founded in order to ensure that competent artists would be present at the scene of history-making events. Eight active duty artists developed a record of all phases of World War II; and all major naval operations have been depicted by Navy artists. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the program was revived with two military artists in combat contexts. Since then, artists have been sent to other combat zones, including the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. Army War Art Unit was established in late 1942; and by the spring of 1943, 42 artists were selected. In May 1943, Congress withdrew funding the unit was inactivated.
The Army's Vietnam Combat Art Program was started in 1966. Teams of soldier-artists created pictorial accounts and interpretations for the annals of army military history. These teams of five soldier-artists typically spent 60 days of temporary duty (TDY) in Vietnam embedded with various units. The U. S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) currently includes an Army Art Collection with about 40 representative war artists.
In 1992, the Army Staff Artist Program was attached to the United States Army Center of Military History. Army artists are a permanent part of the Museum Division's Collections Branch.
There are significant differences in the artwork created by the branches of the U.S. military:
Scope
Military artMilitary art
Military art is a term describing works of art on military themes. The genre of military art is characterized by its subject matter rather than by any specific style or material used. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to...
and the work of American military artists includes both peacetime and wartime. For example, USMC combat artist Kristopher Battles
Kristopher Battles
Kristopher J. Battles is an American artist, known as the last remaining USMC combat artist in 2010.-Military career:Battles joined the Corps in 1986. He served as a computer operator, combat correspondent and chaplain’s assistant...
deployed with American forces in Haiti to provide humanitarian relief as part of Operation Unified Response
Operation Unified Response
Operation Unified Response is the United States military's response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It is being conducted by Joint Task Force Haiti and commanded by United States Southern Command Military Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Ken Keen, although the overall U.S...
after the disastrous earthquake in 2010.
World War I
- William James AylwardWilliam James AylwardWilliam James Aylward was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I.-Biography:Aylward was born September 5, 1875 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and developed an early interest in things nautical because his father built and owned Great Lakes ships. Much of the work from his early career...
- Walter Jack DuncanWalter Jack DuncanWalter Jack Duncan was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I.-Biography:Walter Jack Duncan was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lived there with his family, which included a number of prominent actors, until he finished high school...
- Harvey Thomas Dunn
- Kerr EbyKerr EbyKerr Eby was an Canadian illustrator best known for his renderings of soldiers in combat in the First and Second World Wars. He is held in a similar regard to Harvey Dunn and the other famous illustrators dispatched by the government to cover the First World War.Born in Tokyo, Japan to Canadian...
Marines - George Matthews HardingGeorge Matthews HardingGeorge Matthews Harding was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I.-Biography:George Matthews Harding was born in Philadelphia, where his choice of careers was influenced by his older sister Charlotte...
- Wallace MorganWallace MorganWallace Morgan was an war artist for the United States Army during WWI.-Biography:He was born in 1875 and he grew up in Albany, New York where his family had moved shortly after his birth. Upon graduation from high school he returned to his birthplace, New York City, to pursue a career in art...
- Ernest Clifford Peixotto
- John Singer SargentJohn Singer SargentJohn Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
- J. Andre SmithJ. Andre SmithJ. Andre Smith was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I.-Biography:J. Andre Smith, born in Hong Kong, was the son of a sea captain and shipbuilder. After his father's death in 1887 the family lived for a few years in Hamburg, Germany, and then moved permanently to New York...
. - Harry Everett TownsendHarry Everett TownsendHarry Everett Townsend was a war artist for the United States Army during WWI.-Biography:Harry Everett Townsend was born in Wyoming into the family of a prosperous farmer and merchant. Early in life he displayed his talent for art by earning money as a sign painter for local businessmen. After...
, Army. - Claggett WilsonClaggett WilsonClaggett Wilson was one of America's first "Modernist" painters. Early in his career he taught painting and drawing at Columbia University. After serving as a lieutenant in The First World War, Wilson returned from France to document his experiences in a series of war paintings.-Youth:Born in 1887...
Army
World War II
- Standish BackusStandish BackusStandish Backus, Jr. was a United States military artist. Born in Detroit he attended Princeton University where he obtained a degree in architecture. He then spent a year at the University of Munich studying painting. After a brief period in Maine studying watercolor under Eliot O'Hara, he...
, 1910–1989 - McClelland BarclayMcClelland BarclayMcClelland Barclay was an American painter of pin-up art. Born in St. Louis in 1891, Barclay studied first at the Art Institute of Chicago, then later at the Art Students League in New York City, where he studied under George Bridgman and Thomas Fogarty...
, 1891–1942. - George BiddleGeorge BiddleGeorge Biddle was an American artist best known for his social realism, combat art, and his strong advocacy of government-sponsored art projects...
, 1885–1973 - Aaron BohrodAaron BohrodAaron Bohrod was an American artist best known for his trompe-l'oeil still-life paintings.Bohrad was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1907, the son of an emigree Russian grocer. Bohrod studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York between 1926 and 1930...
, 1907–1992. - Howard BrodieHoward BrodieHoward Brodie was a renowned sketch artist best known for his World War II combat and courtroom sketches.-Pre-war career:...
, 1915– . - Manuel BrombergManuel BrombergManuel Bromberg is an American artist, and Professor Emeritus of Art, at the State University of New York at New Paltz...
, 1917– - Jack CogginsJack CogginsJack Banham Coggins was an artist, author, and illustrator. He is known in the United States for his oil paintings, which focused predominantly on marine subjects. He is also known for his books on space travel, which were both authored and illustrated by Coggins...
, 1914– . - Olin DowsOlin DowsOlin Dows was an United States Army artist who served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.-Biography:...
. - Edward DugmoreEdward DugmoreEdward Dugmore was an abstract expressionist painter known for close ties to both the San Francisco and New York art worlds in post-war era following World War II. Since 1950 he had more than two dozen solo exhibitions of his paintings in galleries across the United States...
, 1915–1996. - William Franklin DraperWilliam Franklin DraperWilliam Franklin Draper was lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, and an American painter.-Early life:...
, 1912-2003. - Nathan GlickNathan GlickNathan H. Glick is an American artist and illustrator best known for his work as a combat artist depicting aerial battles in World War II. He also worked as art director for Progressive Farmer magazine, and as the illustrator of several books on early Alabama history.Glick was born in Birmingham,...
Army Air Force - Mitchel JamiesonMitchel JamiesonMitchel Jamieson was an American painter.Jamieson was born in Linden, Virginia, in 1915. He studied at the Abbott School of Art and the Corcoran School of Art...
, 1915–1976 - Joe JonesJoe JonesJoe Jones may refer to:* Joe Jones , American painter, muralist, and lithographer* Joe Jones , avant-garde musician associated with Fluxus...
Army - John Cullen MurphyJohn Cullen MurphyJohn Cullen Murphy was an American illustrator best known for his three decades of work on the Prince Valiant comic strip....
, 1919–2004. - Henry Varnum Poor, 1887–1970
- Dwight SheplerDwight SheplerDwight Shepler was an American naval officer and painter.Dwight Shepler was born in Everett, Massachusetts and graduated from Williams College in 1928, as well as studying in Boston Museum School of Fine Art...
, –1974. - Mitchell SiporinMitchell Siporin-Biography:Mitchell Siporin was born in New York City and grew up in Chicago. Through the Works Progress Administration, he worked as a painter. Together with Edward Milman, he painted the frescoes in the Central Post Office in St Louis. From 1946 to 1949, he served in the army in North Africa and...
, 1910–1976
Soldier Artist Participants in the U. S. Army Vietnam Combat Artists ProgramVietnam Combat Artists ProgramIn June 1966, the Army Vietnam Combat Artists Program was established as part of the United States Army Art Program, utilizing teams of soldier-artists to make pictorial records of U.S. Army activities in the course of the Vietnam War for the annals of military history. The concept of the Vietnam...
- CAT I, 15 Aug - 15 Dec 1966, Roger A. Blum (Stillwell, KS), Robert C. Knight (Newark, NJNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
), Ronald E. Pepin (East Hartford, CTEast Hartford, ConnecticutEast Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
), Paul RickertPaul Rickert (artist)- Early years and education :Paul Rickert is an American artist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1947. Rickert, son of noted Philadelphia artist and illustrator, William Rickert, grew up along Wissahickon Creek, where 19th-century artists Thomas Moran and William Trost Richards painted in...
(Philadelphia, PA), Felix R. Sanchez (Fort Madison, IA), John O. Wehrle (Dallas, TXDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
), and supervisor, Frank M. Sherman.
- CAT II, 15 Oct 1966 - 15 Feb 1967, Augustine G. Acuna (Monterey, CAMonterey, CaliforniaThe City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
), Alexander A. Bogdanovich (Chicago, IL), Theodore E. Drendel (Naperville, ILNaperville, IllinoisNaperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
), David M. Lavender (Houston, TXHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
), Gary W. Porter (El Cajon, CAEl Cajon, California-History:El Cajon is located on the Rancho El Cajon Mexican land grant made in 1845 to María Antonia Estudillo, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. In 1876 Amaziah Lord Knox , a New Englander who had recently moved to California, established a hotel there to serve the growing number of people traveling...
), and supervisor, Carolyn M. O'Brien.
- CAT III, 16 Feb - 17 June 1967, Michael R. Crook (Sierra Madre, CASierra Madre, CaliforniaThe city of Sierra Madre is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 census. The city is located in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. ...
), Dennis O. McGee (Castro Valley, CACastro Valley, CaliforniaCastro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...
), Robert T. Myers (White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
, NM), Kenneth J. Scowcroft (Manassas, VAManassas, VirginiaThe City of Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Its population was 37,821 as of 2010. Manassas also surrounds the county seat for Prince William County but that county...
), Stephen H. Sheldon (Los Angeles, CALos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
), and supervisor, C. Bruce Smyser.
- CAT IV, 15 Aug - 31 Dec 1967, Samuel E. Alexander (Philadelphia, MSPhiladelphia, MississippiPhiladelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
), Daniel T. Lopez (Fresno, CAFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
), Burdell Moody (Mesa, AZMesa, ArizonaAccording to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
), James R. PollockJames Pollock (artist)James Pollock is an American artist currently living in Pierre, South Dakota. Pollock has been characterized as a "South Dakota painter whose work is a bridge between the abstract and the concrete...
(Pollock, SDPollock, South DakotaPollock is a town in Campbell County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 241 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pollock is located at ....
), Ronald A. Wilson (Alhambra, CAAlhambra, CaliforniaAlhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, which is approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,089, down from 85,804 at the 2000 census. The city's...
), and technical supervisor, Frank M. Thomas.
- CAT V, 1 Nov 1967 - 15 March 1968, Warren W. Buchanan (Kansas City, MOKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
), Philip V. Garner (Dearborn, MIDearborn, Michigan-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
), Phillip W. Jones (Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro, NC]]), Don R. Schol (Denton, TX), John R. Strong (Kanehoe, HI), and technical supervisor, Frank M. Thomas.
- CAT VI, 1 Feb - 15 June 1968, Robert T. Coleman (Grand Rapids, MIGrand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
), David N. Fairrington (Oakland, CA), John D. Kurtz IV (Wilmington, DEWilmington, DelawareWilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
), Kenneth T. McDaniel (Paris, TN), Michael P. Pala (Bridgeport, CTBridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
).
- CAT VII, 15 Aug - 31 Dec 1968, Brian H. Clark (Huntington, NYHuntington, New YorkThe Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
), William E. Flaherty Jr. (Louisville, KYLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
), William C. Harrington (Terre Haute, INTerre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
), Barry W. Johnston (Huntsville, ALHuntsville, AlabamaHuntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
), Stephen H. Randall (Des Moines, IADes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
), and supervisor, Fitzallen N. Yow.
- CAT VIII, 1 Feb - 15 June 1969, Edward J. Bowen (Carona Del Mar, CA), James R. Drake (Colorado Springs, COColorado Springs, ColoradoColorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
), Roman Rakowsky (Cleveland, OH), Victory V. Reynolds (Idaho Falls, IDIdaho Falls, IdahoIdaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374....
), Thomas B. Schubert (Chicago, IL), and supervisor, Fred B. Engel.
- CAT IX, 1 Sept 1969 - 14 Jan 1970, David E. Graves (Lawrence, KSLawrence, KansasLawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
), James S. Hardy (Coronado, CACoronado, CaliforniaCoronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
), William R. Hoettels (San Antonio, TXSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
), Bruce N. Rigby (Dekalb, ILDeKalb, IllinoisDeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....
), Craig L. Stewart (Laurel, MDLaurel, MarylandLaurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
), and supervisor, Edward C. Williams.
Recent conflicts
- Kristopher BattlesKristopher BattlesKristopher J. Battles is an American artist, known as the last remaining USMC combat artist in 2010.-Military career:Battles joined the Corps in 1986. He served as a computer operator, combat correspondent and chaplain’s assistant...
- Henry CasselliHenry CasselliHenry Calvin Casselli, Jr. is a contemporary American artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He primarily paints watercolors of figures and settings from his native New Orleans.-Life and career:...
- Michael D. FayMichael D. FayMichael D. Fay is an American artist, chiefly known as a USMC combat artist. Before his retirement from the Corps, he was war artist serving in Iraq....
- Anthony M. Stencel
See also
- United States Army Art ProgramUnited States Army Art ProgramThe U.S. Army Art Program or United States Army Combat Art Program is a program created by the United States Army to create artwork for museums and other programs sponsored by the US Army...
- Vietnam Combat Artists ProgramVietnam Combat Artists ProgramIn June 1966, the Army Vietnam Combat Artists Program was established as part of the United States Army Art Program, utilizing teams of soldier-artists to make pictorial records of U.S. Army activities in the course of the Vietnam War for the annals of military history. The concept of the Vietnam...
- United States Air Force Art ProgramUnited States Air Force Art ProgramThe USAF Art Program of the United States Air Force was begun in 1950, with the transfer of ~800 works of art from the United States Army.- History :...
- War artists
- Military artMilitary artMilitary art is a term describing works of art on military themes. The genre of military art is characterized by its subject matter rather than by any specific style or material used. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to...
- War photographyWar photographyWar photography captures photographs of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.Although photographs can provide a more direct representation than paintings or drawings, they are sometimes manipulated, creating an image that is not objectively journalistic.-History:Photography, presented to the...
Further reading
- Gallatin, Albert Eugene. Art and the Great War. (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1919).
- Cornebise, Alfred. Art from the trenches: America's uniformed artists in World War I. (A & M University Press, 1991).
- Harrington, Peter, and Frederic A. Sharf. "A Splendid Little War". The Spanish-American War, 1898: The Artists' Perspective. (London: Greenhill, 1998). ISBN 1-85367-316-1