World War I: Art

Heeding the call from artist Charles Dana Gibson to “Draw ‘til it hurts,” hundreds of leading American artists galvanized public interest in the Great War (1914–1918). Although the United States participated as a direct combatant in World War I from 1917 to 1918, the riveting posters, cartoons, fine art prints, and drawings on display chronicle this massive international conflict from its onset through its aftermath.

During World War I, the impact of the poster as a means of communication was greater than at any other time during history. The ability of posters to inspire, inform, and persuade combined with vibrant design trends in many of the participating countries to produce thousands of interesting visual works. The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division makes available online approximately 1,900 posters created between 1914 and 1920. Most relate directly to the war, but some German posters date from the post-war period and illustrate events such as the rise of Bolshevism and Communism, the 1919 General Assembly election and various plebiscites.

The Library of Congress Prints & Photograph Division (P&P) has more than 76,000 pictures relating to World War I, in a wide array of formats, including photographic prints and negatives, cartoons, ephemera, posters and drawings. Most of the material was created during the war (1914-1918), but a portion deals with post-war topics such as injured veterans, pension distribution, and the aftermath in European cities. The Library of Congress acquired the materials through copyright deposit, gift, and purchase. In some cases, other Library of Congress units, particularly the Manuscript Division, transferred visual material to P&P for care and service.

The United States entered the First World War when it declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. The government promptly established a Committee on Public Information to coordinate propaganda for the war effort. The committee’s Division of Pictorial Publicity soon began planning to provide the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) with official artists. This was an unprecedented move, inspired by the official war art programs of Britain and France. Never before the First World War had any government sponsored artists to record a war in progress, although newspaper and magazine artists had begun doing so by the mid-1800s. The Division selected eight American artists, all of them experienced illustrators. The US Army commissioned them as captains and assigned them to record the wide-ranging activities of the AEF for posterity, as well as to help shape popular understanding of the war at home.

This exhibition examines this form of artistic expression from two complementary perspectives. One is professional artists who were recruited by the U.S. Army, serving in the AEF. They were the first true combat artists. The other is soldiers who created artwork. Their self-expression in the form of stone carvings in underground shelters, hidden away for a century, has been brought to light for the first time through the stunning photographs of photographer, artist, and explorer, Jeff Gusky. Together, these soldier works of art shed light on World War I in a compelling and very human way.

The photographic files of the Historical Branch, War Plans Division, War Department General Staff were assembled by the Committee for Public Information and considered to be the "Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs". They were obtained from private sources, the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and other Federal and State government agencies. Some of the private sources were the American Red Cross; Central News and Photo Service; the International Film Service; Harris and Ewing; Western Newspaper Union; Underwood and Underwood; Paul Thompson; Inc. Some may still hold copyrights. Some of the photographs depict the unity of the nation and how overwhelming the war effort was. There are pictures of bonds; savings stamps and war loan drives; public gatherings; peace demonstrations and parades. Documented also were activities of libraries; hospitals; first aid stations; training camps and forts; most which are arranged by name or location. Photographs taken by the War Industries Board are grouped separately in alphabetical order such as blankets; cloth; machinery; metals; and other subjects. Photographs taken of airplanes are arranged alphabetically by name of the manufacturer, such as, Curtiss; Dayton-Wright; Ford; and others. Other wartime industries such as military equipment; motor vehicles; ships; ordinance; and other industries are included. Photographed also were groups of Afro-Americans in the military, such as, the Buffalos and the Rainbow Division; Women's Suffrage activities the Flu Epidemic of 1918; pioneer military aviation activities; volunteer and war relief organizations; AEF activities; propaganda and other anti-war activities. Views of Red Cross activities; the Boy Scouts of America; Camp Fire Girls; the American Library Association; and military training activities at schools and colleges are included. Noteworthy people are Henry Ford (shown on the Ford Peace Expedition); actors Lillian Gish, MaryPickford, and Charlie Chaplin; Secretary of the Treasury, William McAdoo; Presidents William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and many others encouraging the war effort.

A series of photographs acquired by the War Department depicting the military activities and personnel of several nations during World War I, 1914-1918. The images were taken by British photographers and depict several major subjects within the series. They include major military campaigns of the war such as Somme and Ancre, Salonika, Dardanells, and the Mesopotomian Campaigns. In the process of showing these campaigns the photos reveal the marching of troops to the front; the living conditions in the trenches; the transportation and communication problems; the food supply movement; and the human misery behind battlefield experiences. The images also reflect the homefront commitment. This includes the role women play in the factories, food production, the medical support by nurses, work in munitions plants, and drivers of trucks and ambulances. Other photographs show the role political and military leaders play in the war. These views include images of King George of England, President Poincare of France, the King and Queen of Belgium, and Representatives of the U.S. Congress. The photos also show military leaders such as Sir Douglas Haig, Field Marshall Foch, General John J. Pershing and Admiral Mayo. There are images that reveal late 19th, and early 20th century equipment. These photos show naval vessels, cannon, tanks, and other motor vehicles along with horse drawn vehicles. And there are photographs depicting the use of new types of aircraft and aerial photography.

The first major exhibition devoted to exploring the ways in which American artists reacted to the First World War