The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the State and the art community between the interwar years, 1933 and 1941, the United States witnessed a proliferation of art programs during the Second World War. The genesis of American war art of the Second World War began prior to the declaration of war in December of 1941. By the start of the war in 1941, members of the Armed Forces were already working with artists to formulate art programs. The production of practical art for training purposes burgeoned, and artist-correspondent initiatives reemerged to secure pictorial historical records of the war. Through a study of both practical and creative forms of “official” and “unofficial” art, this thesis reveals art was not merely employed during the Second World War for propaganda. During the Second World War, art was a valuable and malleable tool for both the State that required it to accomplish military objectives and for servicemen who relied on it to articulate their experiences to loved ones and one another. This narrative reshapes current assumptions of war art and encourages readers to reconceptualize art and its capacity to operate both as a State and social function.
","abstract_html":"<p>The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the State and the art community between the interwar years, 1933 and 1941, the United States witnessed a proliferation of art programs during the Second World War. The genesis of American war art of the Second World War began prior to the declaration of war in December of 1941. By the start of the war in 1941, members of the Armed Forces were already working with artists to formulate art programs. The production of practical art for training purposes burgeoned, and artist-correspondent initiatives reemerged to secure pictorial historical records of the war. Through a study of both practical and creative forms of “official” and “unofficial” art, this thesis reveals art was not merely employed during the Second World War for propaganda. During the Second World War, art was a valuable and malleable tool for both the State that required it to accomplish military objectives and for servicemen who relied on it to articulate their experiences to loved ones and one another. This narrative reshapes current assumptions of war art and encourages readers to reconceptualize art and its capacity to operate both as a State and social function.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Carroll-Johnson, Spenser"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"War and Society","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Charissa Threat","Dr. Gregory Daddis","Dr. Michael Wood"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:09Z","subjects":["Art","World War II","Soldiers","United States","War","American","American Art and Architecture","Art and Design","Fine Arts","Illustration","Military History","Modern Art and Architecture","Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology","Painting","Political History","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/11","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Charissa Threat","Dr. Gregory Daddis","Dr. Michael Wood"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Carroll-Johnson, Spenser"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["War and Society"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Art","World War II","Soldiers","United States","War","American","American Art and Architecture","Art and Design","Fine Arts","Illustration","Military History","Modern Art and Architecture","Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology","Painting","Political History","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/11"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the State and the art community between the interwar years, 1933 and 1941, the United States witnessed a proliferation of art programs during the Second World War. The genesis of American war art of the Second World War began prior to the declaration of war in December of 1941. By the start of the war in 1941, members of the Armed Forces were already working with artists to formulate art programs. The production of practical art for training purposes burgeoned, and artist-correspondent initiatives reemerged to secure pictorial historical records of the war. Through a study of both practical and creative forms of “official” and “unofficial” art, this thesis reveals art was not merely employed during the Second World War for propaganda. During the Second World War, art was a valuable and malleable tool for both the State that required it to accomplish military objectives and for servicemen who relied on it to articulate their experiences to loved ones and one another. This narrative reshapes current assumptions of war art and encourages readers to reconceptualize art and its capacity to operate both as a State and social function.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Carroll-Johnson, Spenser. “Requisitioned: American War Art of the Second World War.” Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2020. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000127"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Requisitioned: American War Art of the Second World War"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Charissa Threat","Dr. Gregory Daddis","Dr. Michael Wood"],"dc:creator":["Carroll-Johnson, Spenser"],"dc:description.abstract":["The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the State and the art community between the interwar years, 1933 and 1941, the United States witnessed a proliferation of art programs during the Second World War. The genesis of American war art of the Second World War began prior to the declaration of war in December of 1941. By the start of the war in 1941, members of the Armed Forces were already working with artists to formulate art programs. The production of practical art for training purposes burgeoned, and artist-correspondent initiatives reemerged to secure pictorial historical records of the war. Through a study of both practical and creative forms of “official” and “unofficial” art, this thesis reveals art was not merely employed during the Second World War for propaganda. During the Second World War, art was a valuable and malleable tool for both the State that required it to accomplish military objectives and for servicemen who relied on it to articulate their experiences to loved ones and one another. This narrative reshapes current assumptions of war art and encourages readers to reconceptualize art and its capacity to operate both as a State and social function.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/11"],"dc:source":["Carroll-Johnson, Spenser. “Requisitioned: American War Art of the Second World War.” Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2020. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000127"],"dc:subject":["Art","World War II","Soldiers","United States","War","American","American Art and Architecture","Art and Design","Fine Arts","Illustration","Military History","Modern Art and Architecture","Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology","Painting","Political History","United States History"],"dc:title":["Requisitioned: American War Art of the Second World War"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["War and Society"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:09Z"}