Special Publications

THE GREAT WAR: U.S. ARMY ART

THE GREAT WAR: U.S. ARMY ART

Sarah G. Forgey, General Editor

Special Publications
CMH Pub 70-127, Cloth
2018; 174 pages, illustrations

GPO S/N: Pending

This book marks the World War I Centennial by showcasing pieces from the Army Art Program, which is also observing its own one hundredth anniversary. World War I was the first time the Army recruited artists and sent them into combat. Commissioned in the Corps of Engineers as captains, the Army instructed eight artists to record the American Expeditionary Forces' activities during the Great War. Eyewitness artists outside the program soon followed them to Europe. Their works give us a sense of poignancy and emotion that cannot be captured by photography. Through the book's pages, we can step into the atmosphere of the war: from the embarkation of troops, to the factories producing armaments, to the frontline trenches, to evacuation hospitals, to the home front. The reader feels the despondency of war refugees, and aches alongside a suffering soldier. The book also presents propaganda posters that the Division of Pictorial Publicity commissioned to support the war effort. The division recruited the top artists and illustrators of the time to quickly and effectively convey the government's message: enlist, buy bonds, and conserve food.

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