Soldier Art

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: On view were winning entries in the National Army Arts Contest, sponsored and funded by the Special Services Division, United States Army Service Forces. The War Department announced a national army competition in December 1944, in order to stimulate interest in art as an off-duty recreational activity. Members of each army post and hospital could send entries to their service command headquarters. From 9,000 entries, 1,500 were selected for exhibition in Boston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Columbus, Omaha, and San Francisco. A $100 war bond was given to the winner in each of 8 classes: oil and tempera, watercolor and gouache, mural design, sculpture, renderings, drawings, prints, and photographs. From these regional exhibitions, 214 winners, about 30 from each group, were selected for the special exhibition at the National Gallery. The works were illustrated in the accompanying publication.

Catalog: Soldier Art. Infantry Journal, Inc., Fighting Series, 1945.