Art Search

[Copperhead Six]

I am still a member (for one more month) of the USAR and am in the 412th Engineer Command. In our reserve center are many lithos, paintings etc. - several of which are from WWII. They were done by many different authors, and one of the more prominent ones was named John Scott. In trying to do some research it looks like he worked for Yank magazine maybe. Several of his works were of military bridges, including one of a Bailey Bridge over Albert Canal and another of a timber trestle bridge. Military bridges are important to me - I commanded bridge companies in Iraq and we put in many bridges. So I would like to collect some military bridge art, especially old art. Does anyone know where I can find such a thing, in particular some of Mr. Scott's work or something similar?

[Walt's Daughter]

Hi and welcome. It's great to have a current day engineer visiting the site!

 

Here's an article right on our forum regarding his work. It's a PDF file:

 

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/doc...%20Building.pdf

 

I think you will find this to be very interesting!

 

I'll be back in a bit with more...

[Walt's Daughter]

I am going to list a few drawings and paintings, along with artist, then we can tackle the project of where to purchase said artwork.

 

Terence Cuneo's Bridging the Rapido at Monte Cassino

 

Terence Cuneo’s painting, Bridging the Rapido at Monte Cassino depicts the British Royal Engineers' launch of an 80ft Class 30 Bailey bridge, built under constant fire on the night of the 12-13 May 1944.

 

NOTE: The link I had is no longer viable. Attaching an image, instead.

 

Ludwig Mactarian's Launching a Bailey

 

I have a copy of this on our site, but having a hard time finding an art gallery, etc, to purchase an actual print.

 

Ludwig Mactarian was born in 1908 in New York. His career as an artist included his work for the Fine Arts Section of the Treasury Department. He also completed murals in the Agriculture Building and the United States Post Office in Dardenelle, Arkansas. Mr. Mactarian served during World War II as a Sergeant with the 337th Engineers, part of the Fifth Army. He covered many operations as a war artist/correspondent.

 

I did find this site, which has an Online Gallery. You may wish to contact them for further information. They have about 20 of his prints, and several of bridges. This is from The US Army Center of Military History.

 

http://www.history.army.mil/art/mactarian/Mactarian.htm

 

http://www.history.army.mil/art/mactarian/6_111_45.JPG

 

Here's their inquiry page:

 

http://www.history.army.mil/inquire.html

 

I'll see what else I can dig up for you. At least we're off to a fairly good start!

[Copperhead Six]

Marion,

 

I had forgotten I had made this post, and just now found the link I had saved. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you had replied twice and provided such wonderful information. The article from Yank was great. I had purchased a few old copies of Yank that I found on eBay - unfortunately not the one you referenced. Do you by any chance know the month and year of this issue? Perhaps I can find a copy of it on eBay.

 

The links to the art are great. I think I will try to purchase the one from the UK Sapper Shop, and also try to track down some of the others. If nothing else maybe with the jpg's I can get copies printed somewhere.

 

Again I appreciate the information and anything else you may find. If I can return the favor please let me know.

 

BTW, I have met LTC David Pergrin, and he has autographed a copy of his book for me (First Across the Rhine). A wonderful man!!

 

Regards and best wishes,

COL Mike Ernst

USAR, Ret

[brian m]

I came across two framed sketches by John Scott and a third by Rudolph Von Ripper. They were framed by someone who knew what they were doing and they looked real nice but because it was framed, I could not see any signatures or production run numbers. Do you know if the drawings from these artists have ever been reproduced to sell in bulk or did they only do some limited printings? I talked to the guy who had them at our local flea market and he will hopefully be back next week. I did not have the money at the time (nor did I know who these gentlemen were until I did some research at home) so I did not purchase them... yet.

 

Any Information is appreciated!

 

Brian

[Walt's Daughter]

From what I understand, many of the drawings by the engineers were donated to the museum at The US Army Center of Military History. Unfortunately I do not know the individual circumstances of each of the artists before they made the donations.

 

The best bet would be to call them. They were very helpful when I asked for images regarding WWII engineers, and they gave me a lot of background. I am trying to locate the number to the museum, right now.

[Walt's Daughter]

Ah, here ya go:

 

Army Art Curator

U.S. Army Center of Military History

Washington, D.C.

202-761-5396

[Walt's Daughter]

Here's some info on John Walter Scott:

 

 

During World War II, Yank, the weekly magazine by published by the U.S. Army beginning on 17 June 1942, became extremely popular with soldiers around the world. While it was headquartered in New York, Yank staffers rotated between desk jobs at the main office and overseas locations to cover the war and produce twenty-one separate weekly editions. Sold for five cents, Yank eventually reached a combined circulation of two million.

 

Each issue of Yank contained a wide variety of material written by and for soldiers, including cartoons such as George Baker’s "Sad Sack" series, pinups, letters from soldiers, articles on various subjects, poetry, and editorials. One regular contributor was artist John Scott, who produced sketches for Yank while working in the magazine’s London office.

 

John Walter Scott was born on 1 December 1907 in Camden, New Jersey, and began studying illustration at the age of sixteen. He first worked for pulp western magazines published by Dell and Street and Smith. He entered the Army in April 1942 and served with the 342d Engineer General Service Regiment in Europe until he was transferred to the staff of Yank in London. He rose to the rank of sergeant before being discharged from the Army in June 1945.

 

The vast majority of Scott’s work that appeared in Yank consisted of ink sketches of scenes from all over Western Europe. His subjects varied but often included engineers, probably as a result of Scott’s earlier service in the 342d Engineers. Approximately twenty of Scott’s works were acquired by the Army for the Army Art Collection at the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

 

After World War II, Scott became an illustrator for magazines in both the United States and Canada. By the 1960s, Scott was largely focused on wildlife art. He later turned his attention to illustrating scenes of the American West. In addition to his magazine work, Scott also painted several murals for Mormon churches and a series of large paintings depicting the history of the Texas oil industry. He died in 1987 in Danbury, Connecticut.

[Walt's Daughter]

http://www.pulpartists.com/ScottJW.html

[brian m]

Thanks Marion, i found the first write up on him but the website you gave had some good information on him too. I tried calling the number you gave and it had been disconnected. I found another phone number on line and will try to call it this week. Thanks again for the leads!

 

Brian