Portraits of World War II Soldiers by New Rochelle Artists and Illustrators, ca. 1940s

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In 1943 members of the New Rochelle Art Association began sketching portraits of service personnel stationed at Fort Slocum Army Base on Davids Island. The subject’s name and rank appear at the bottom of each charcoal drawing, along with the artist’s signature. Two copies were made of the drawings, and the original was sent to whomever the poser had requested. All costs were paid by the Association and donations from the community.

The project became very popular and was soon established at many bases around the U.S. and abroad. By the spring of 1945 over 100 American artists had donated their talents in creating over 10,000 portraits. The New Rochelle Art Association completed 2,000 of these, and they are contained in 10 scrapbooks at the New Rochelle Public Library.

This record is associated with:

• New Rochelle