A recent addition to the Military Collection is a fine gouache painting of soldiers playing cards in camp stateside during the period of the Second World War.
In anticipation of war, Congress passed the Selective and Training Act of 1940 requiring all men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register with their local draft boards. This resulted in a massive influx of inductees into training camps around the country who were housed in temporary barrack buildings and recreation halls. At a number of camps, artist-recruits came together to create art programs designed to brighten-up the new wooden buildings in addition to creating recreational programs. One of the earliest and most successful soldier art programs was at Fort Custer near Battle Creek, Michigan. Self-styled the ‘Fort Custer Illustrators’, a group of soldier-artists began creating paintings and murals representing army life in the early summer of 1941. The illustrators held a number of exhibitions at the Camp Service Club and the first to showcase soldier art opened in early August 1941. So impressive was the quality of the artwork that a selection was chosen for exhibition in February 1942 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This painting by Gaylord Flory entitled Pay Day, is typical of the high standard of art achieved in the camps.