Text panel, Art of the Armed Forces exhibition, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1943

• Main Author: Baltimore Museum of Art
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: Archives and Manuscripts Collections, The Baltimore Museum of Art 1943
• Subjects: The Baltimore Museum of Art; Art museums > Exhibitions; Armed Forces and the arts; World War; 1939-1945; Patriotism in art; Art and war; Painting; American; Art > Competitions; Soldiers in art; Greenland; Trinidad
• Online Access: http://cdm16075.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15264coll7/id/156

View of an introductory text panel in the Art of the Armed Forces exhibition held at The Baltimore Museum of Art January 3-31, 1943. The exhibition was part of a nationwide tour organized by the American Federation of Arts and displaying 117 original paintings done by soldiers in the armed forces. The exhibition was born from an art competition sponsored by Life Magazine for works by American men reflecting their active duty military experiences. The competition received around 1500 paintings from men of all ranks and posted in locations such as Trinidad, Hawaii, and Greenland. The 117 chosen winners expressed a variety of characteristics, including humor, sentimentality, idealism, and patriotism, and the Museum hoped that they would act not only as aesthetic artwork, but as testaments to the intelligence and personality of those dedicated to fighting for the country.