The Washington times., 1917-05-03
ARTISTS WORK HARD
TO HELP RECRUITING
Nations Famous Painters DO
Their Bit" to Swell Navy.

recruiters.
The navy has a publicity office in
New York, commanded by Commander
X. n. Bennett, u. S. N. In Britain
they call their "man in blue" the
"handy man" As yet we have no
like name for ours, but our "gob' Is
equally versatile. Every blessed man
in this office is Of the United States
navy, apd in the print shop there Is
no unionism, because all hands are
bluejackets, and fellows who were
once Runpointers on dreadnaughts are
now running printing presses, and
the chap who tends to the telephone
used to play about g.: submarines at
Panama.
Just when the war clouds were on
the horizon Henry Reuterdahl, the
naval artist, called on Admiral Por-
ter, chief os the Bureau OF NaviGa-
tion, and asked him what paint
singer might do to help the navy.
The admiral said publicity" and
when the war broke out Reuterdahl
hot-footed II to Commander Bennett,
IN charge of the publicity office. He
said: Captain, ] have a scheme
whereby l think / can enlist every
mural painter and illustrator TO help
the navy, and do II for nothing.
We will get the mural painters to
design and paint billboards, and the
illustrators to make posters, and II
will not cost the Government cent.
Commander Bennett looked up with
an eye full of doubt and smile
which indicated poor fellow, he is
crazy with the heat, and it is only
April" But because he is a man OF
vision and Imagination and knew the
value of these artists, he opened the
throttle wide, and our painters mad
illustrators are now working hard to
help the navy get men.
Draws BIueJacket From Life.
z. H. Blashheld, the dean OF Amer
lean mural decorators, is working on
q design representing Columbia call
ing upon the young men OF the nation
to enlist in the navy. This design
will be enlarged on the billboard and
dnIshsd by Mr.. BIAshfsld himself.
The value of Mr.. Blashfield's art,
measured by dollars, runs into thou
sands. And II you call at his studio
you will see him now drawing
husky bluejscket from life.
Similarly William deLeftwitch
Dodge, the man who did those won
derful decorations at the Panama
Fair, IL painting q big billboard for
the navy; and Frank Dumond is do
ing the same. George Breek, who
decorated the American Church in
Rome, has temporarily left his
murals and is designing the emblems
of patriotism which are to adorn a
billboard in New York city. Milton
Bancroft, another man who worked
on the San Francisco Fair, is swing
ing his brush. He said "a lot OF us
artists might not be very good on the
airing line, and the least we can do
is TO put our talents at the disposal
of the navy and army"
In Wilmington, Del, Wyeth, paint
er and Illustrator, is going TO do
big billboard. ]. J. A. Murphy, just
back from England, assistant to the
great Brangwyn, is to splash paint
which will make the passers-by of
Boston stop and look at the billboard
appealing for rscruits- In Pittsburgh
Edward Trumbull, another Brangwyn-
trained painter, Is delineating a de-
sign which will carry out the idea
10 the PittSburghers that, "Those of
you who are not making steel, make
history, and enlist in the navy" In
New Bedford, c. W. Ashley, the whal-
ing artist, Is painting blue seas to
cause the corner loafer of New Bed
ford to drop chewing gum, enlist In
the navy, and be a sport.
OF Big Money Value.
Right in the heart of cubism, at
Twenty-thIrd street and Fourth ave
nue., New York, James Daugherty.
-paIs-faced and worried, Is trying to
make a cubistic poster which will
pass the eagle eye of the commander
and also stop a clock and make a few
men want to go in the navy. Willy
Pogany, once an Austrian, now an
American, is also working. The pa
tTiotic fever has even struck the
seulptors, and on the cliffs OF Wee
haWken Robert Aitken, when not
playing with a Springfield rifle, Is
thinking hard about the billboard
which he IS going to paint for the
navy, and Arthur Crisp has forsalSen
his graceful lyrics for the sterner
themes of gun and barbette.
In the wilds of Connecticut George
Wright and z. NJ. Ashe are to CON
vince by brush and paint, that the
place for a young man is now in the
navy. George BesI. the impressionist
painter of New York. has also set
aside his spring cRnvsses to give the
feet a helping hand. In the same
way, Jean Paleologue, known in New
York's Bohemia as THE Prince" is
putting his French Ell Ithusiasm behind |
his brush strokes I'm welding a design |
for navy recruiting. Likewise A. 5. |
Covey. the mural decorator.
This does only cover the patriotism |
Of artists, but, translated into dollars |
and cents. the billboard people are in |
the movement to help the navy. to |
the extent OF thousands OF dollars. |
The bill board at Times square on |
which ReuterdahI painted a thirty-by- |
fortI foot recruiting design Of a bat |
tieship in action was presented to the |
navy by the o. J. GUIDE Company, and |
that little patch represents $iO0 a |
month, in rentals.
W. II, Slayton, executive secretary |
Of tie Navy League, is obtaining bill |
boards throughout the country and |
decorators of the middle West and |
california are all being enrolled to |
help navy recruiting.
Poster Men Swing In.
The Leyendeckers head the list Of .
the poster men who have volunteered 1
their services, and Charles Dana Glib
son, the dean of the corps, carried his |
own drawing under his arm down to |
Commander Benefits office, and our
only James Montgomery Flagg swung
his racing car into the wilds of ThIr-
ty-pinth street, where the Navy does
It's publicity and unlOaded a perfectly
D ipping and live oil painting which IS