Monday, August 6, 2012

Camouflage Artist | Barry Faulkner

New Hampshire muralist and camoufleur Barry Faulkner

In a number of earlier posts, we've talked about New Hampshire muralist Barry Faulkner (1881-1966) and the extent of his involvement (along with sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry (1879-1966)) in organizing artists to serve in the American Camouflage Corps during World War I. Faulkner later talked about his wartime experiences in his autobiography, Sketches From An Artist's Life (Dublin NH,: William Bauhan, 1973), in which was also reproduced the above photograph.

Earlier this year, a substantial article by historian E. Malcolm Parkinson (associate professor emeritus of history at Worchester Polytechnic Institute) was featured in Prologue, a publication of the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Vol 44 No 1 (Spring 2012). In the article, titled "The Artist at War: Painters, Muralist, Sculptors, Architects Worked to Provide Camouflage for Troops in World War I," Parkinson notes that while Faulkner is remembered for his commissioned murals—including two large paintings in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building (as shown below)—few people are aware of his role in the army. The entire article can now be accessed online. more>>

Faulkner's murals in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building