The Dried-up Pond / Epilogue to Mons
Datec. 1918
Artist
Harvey T. Dunn
(American illustrator, 1884–1952)
MediumCrayon on newsprint paper
Dimensionssheet: 10 × 14 in. (25.4 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineTransfer from Helen Farr Sloan Library and Archives, 2014
Object number2014-257
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextHarvey Dunn was one of eight artists commissioned as Captains in the US Corps of Engineers in 1917 to record the activities of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. The government's goal was to obtain images that could be used to engage the public and inspire the purchase of war bonds. Dunn make this sketch of an American soldier in France at rest with his company. The inscription "epilogue to Mons" refers to the Battle of Mons in 1914, the first engagement of the British and Germans, regarded as the beginning of Germany's relentless advance into France after the British defeat. As the United States did not enter the war until 1917, Dunn's inscription may refer to the war itself, or to the Americans' entry, as an aftermath of the Battle of Mons, especially given the catastrophic effects on France.
Discharged in 1919, Dunn completed 33 paintings based on his sketches. However, the government's interest in the project diminished. Today many of the paintings are held by the Harvey Dunn Collection at the South Dakota Art Museum in his native state.
