"Go to war, bring back art"

Did you know that the Army has an art curator, an artist-in-residence, and a stellar collection of over 12,000  paintings and drawings? Yup, it does.

Recently the curator of the Army Art Collection, Sarah Forgey, spoke at the Ghost Army Exhibit, in New City,  NY about the Army's collection which includes works dating back to the Revolutionary War.  Many are in the Smithsonian, and the rest are awaiting a permanent museum which is scheduled to open in 2015 in Fort Belvoir, VA.  Some of the finest pieces are from WWI & WWII when the army actually commissioned artist/soldiers to go into battle armed with art supplies.  Each painting is a personal insight into war and life as a soldier, but also is representative of the era in which it was created.

Currently the Army has one artist-in-residence, who also spoke at the Ghost Army Exhibit: MSg. Martin Cervantez, a self trained artist and member of the US Army for 25 years.  He showed paintings of his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He thinks its quite exciting to be sketching in the midst of a gun battle.

Ms. Forgey said that the only art direction the Army ever gave to the artists (including one female soldier in Afghanistan who used tents in lieu of canvas) was "Go to war, bring back art."  Huh, maybe that is the answer.

Here is a link to the artwork, some of which were printed in Life and Fortune magazines - army artists

This painting is called "Two Thousand Yard Stare" by Tom Lea

The Ghost Army Exhibit, curated by yours truly, will be on view through October 16, 2011.  More info on the Ghost Army, a unique camouflage unit in WWII which  included many artists, can be found at http://www.ghostarmy.org

Illustrator Victor Juhasz in Afghanistan.