Portrait of War: The U.S. Army's First Combat Artists and the Doughboys' Experience in WWI - Hardcover

Krass, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471670235 ISBN 13: 9780471670230

Publisher: Wiley, 2006

Synopsis

Portrait of War tells the gripping true story of eight graphic artists recruited by the government and sent into combat to create a visual historical record of World War I. Featuring both their stunning illustrations and deep personal reflections, Portrait of War is a moving testament to the bravery of these artist-soldiers and the remarkable record of war they left behind.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Eight individuals witnessed more of the American fighting experience during World War I than any other U.S. participant, military or civilian. Commissioned as captains in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), these brave men—known as the AEF's Eight—risked their lives roaming through occupied zones, blood-soaked battlefields, and the forward trenches to complete a groundbreaking mission: they were the first artist-soldiers to be recruited through official government channels to make a historical record of war.

Portrait of War tells the gripping story of these artist-soldiers for the first time. Drawing upon the graphic letters, diaries, and memoirs the men kept as well as the interviews they conducted, Peter Krass presents a completely different view of the Great War as seen through the eyes of these chosen few, who were determined to capture "the shock and loss and bitterness and blood of it."

Despite the dangers that lay ahead, the men, proud of their role in recording history, were thrilled to have what one called "a free ticket to the greatest fight in the world." The antithesis of lean doughboys primed for battle, the artists, who had received little to no formal military training, traveled the battlefields together, sketching what they saw and watching out for one another when under fire.

Krass skillfully brings the AEF Eight's journey with the soldiers to life, revealing in rich, compelling detail how they shared cramped quarters on ships headed overseas and marched across the countryside, documenting the small but meaningful moments the soldiers shared in between artillery attacks. Their lives would be irrevocably altered as, with each sketch, they made new discoveries about the realities of war and the people on both sides of the conflict.

Featuring stunning illustrations by the artists, chosen from their vast collection of remarkable work, Portrait of War is a testament to the bravery of these eight men and the soldiers with whom they shared the trenches.

From the Back Cover

"Riveting . . . Krass weaves a fascinating story of the first official attempt by the Army to capture the essence of war through the eyes and pencils of eight top American artists who were sent to the Western Front in France. A marvelous eyewitness story of the 'Big War.'"
—Col. H. A. Chenoweth, USMCR Ret., Korean War veteran, Vietnam and Gulf War combat artist, and author of Art of War A Searing Account of World War I as Seen by the Artist

Eighty-five years before there were embedded journalists with American armed forces in Iraq, eight brave artist-soldiers risked their lives in the trenches and battlefields to bring the reality of World War I back home.

In Portrait of War, Peter Krass shares the heroic adventures of these men as they witnessed, explored, and depicted the trials and triumphs of the American soldier and the tragedy of war. Written with the intensity of a novel, this compelling narrative follows the artists as they marched shoulder to shoulder with the doughboys, sketching while under fire and doing their best to stay alive. Studded with examples of their remarkable work and excerpts from the artists' journals, this thrilling account places us at the front lines as surely as our television cameras do today.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0471670235
• ISBN 13: 9780471670230
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352