They Drew Fire

On the dust jacket, Tom Lea's painting of an overtaxed World War II combat veteran with a "thousand-yard stare" looks out somewhere beyond us. The image is representative of those drawn or painted by military artists whose job it was to document, in a way cameras could not, the violence of combat as well as the tedium of life in the rear. Some went on to artistic fame as civilians, and their valuable work became part of the archive of combat art commissioned by the military. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Lanker (I Dream a World) and documentary filmmaker Newnham (Unforgettable Face) follow the PBS documentary of the same name, often quoting the artists as they appeared on screen. The authors describe the armed forces' arts program and Life magazine's commissions, including one funded by Abbot Laboratories that concentrated on medical themes. Emotional extremes fuel the most vivid art; some of it is hard to take, leaving haunting images that linger for a lifetime. Recommended for art as well as military collections.DMel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA
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