Kerr Eby
Encyclopedia
Kerr 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 Methodist missionary parents in 1890, Kerr received formal art training at Pratt Institute and the Art Students' League in New York. Enlisting in the Army in 1917, Eby served in an ambulance crew and later as a camofleur. Although unable to acquire an artist's commission to cover the war, Eby created many memorable and haunting images of soldiers both in combat and living their daily lives on the front.
In the 1920s and 30s, Eby continued to occasionally generate pieces related to his experience, and worked many of his early sketches into completed lithographs. These images were eventually collected and distributed in the book WAR, which remains in the collection of many libraries today. Notable images in this collection include a haunting drawing of marines retreating across the countryside beneath a menacing black cloud.
As the United States returned to war in 1941, Eby attempted to reenlist but was denied because of his age. He found service instead in the combat artists program created by Abbott Laboratories to cover the war.
Eby operated primarily in the Pacific during World War II, where he landed with the Marines on Tarawa and Guadalcanal
. He created many of his strongest works, and put his life on the line to capture the experiences he shared with those soldiers.
Eby contracted a tropical disease while covering the war in Bougainville
, and would die at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut
in 1946. He left behind a great body of completed work and much that was still in progress. These drawings, prints and paintings serve as both historical record and primary documentation of the American experience of war in the 20th century.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
best known for his renderings of soldiers in combat in the First
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Second World Wars
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He is held in a similar regard to Harvey Dunn
Harvey Dunn
Harvey Thomas Dunn was an American painter. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, The Prairie is My Garden. In this painting, a mother and her son and daughter are out gathering flowers from the quintessential prairie of the Great Plains.-Early life:Dunn was born on a homestead...
and the other famous illustrators dispatched by the government to cover the First World War.
Born in Tokyo, Japan to Canadian Methodist missionary parents in 1890, Kerr received formal art training at Pratt Institute and the Art Students' League in New York. Enlisting in the Army in 1917, Eby served in an ambulance crew and later as a camofleur. Although unable to acquire an artist's commission to cover the war, Eby created many memorable and haunting images of soldiers both in combat and living their daily lives on the front.
In the 1920s and 30s, Eby continued to occasionally generate pieces related to his experience, and worked many of his early sketches into completed lithographs. These images were eventually collected and distributed in the book WAR, which remains in the collection of many libraries today. Notable images in this collection include a haunting drawing of marines retreating across the countryside beneath a menacing black cloud.
As the United States returned to war in 1941, Eby attempted to reenlist but was denied because of his age. He found service instead in the combat artists program created by Abbott Laboratories to cover the war.
Eby operated primarily in the Pacific during World War II, where he landed with the Marines on Tarawa and Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. He created many of his strongest works, and put his life on the line to capture the experiences he shared with those soldiers.
Eby contracted a tropical disease while covering the war in Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, and would die at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
in 1946. He left behind a great body of completed work and much that was still in progress. These drawings, prints and paintings serve as both historical record and primary documentation of the American experience of war in the 20th century.