Art of the American Soldier Art of the American Soldier - US Army ...

Gassed by John Singer Sargent, 1918, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum
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After consulting with officials from Great Britain
and France and learning how those countries had
used their artists to portray the histories of the
armies, the War Department’s Division of Pictorial
Publicity, led by renowned artist-illustrator Charles
Dana Gibson, recommended eight artists to witness
and document the battlefield efforts of the American
Expeditionary Forces. These seven illustrators and
one architect were commissioned as captains in the
Corps of Engineers and were sent to France. Harvey
Dunn, Ernest Peixotto, George Harding, J. André
Smith, Harry Townsend, Wallace Morgan, William
Aylward, and Walter Duncan were stationed in
Neufchateau and allowed to travel freely throughout
the war zones. They were given instructions to paint
what they wanted in whatever style or whatever
medium suited them. The only caveats were that
the artists create pieces that were recognizable (not
fully abstract) and that they not serve as the official
portrait painters of the generals.
J. André Smith’s identity card, courtesy of the
Maitland Art and Historical Association