Picturing World War I: America's First Official War Artists, 1918-1919 -- Walter Jack Duncan (1881 - 1941)
Walter Jack Duncan (1881 - 1941)
Duncan came from a prominent theater family. Promptly upon graduating from high school in Indianapolis, were he was born and raised, Duncan left for New York to begin four years of study at the Art Students’ League, the best art school in America at the turn of the 20th century. Especially adept at pen-and-ink drawing, he established himself as a magazine and book illustrator.
Selected for the official war art program, Duncan joined the American Expeditionary Force in France as an army captain in early spring 1918. Most of his work depicted men in the rear areas keeping the army supplied.
Duncan remained in Europe after the Armistice, first with occupation forces in Germany, then in a Paris studio. He returned to the United States in June 1919 and resumed working for magazines and illustrating books, and also taught at the Art Students League.
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-
The Docks at Brest
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca. 1918
- 1918-07-21
- 1918-07-21
- artist
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25701
- catalog number
- 25701
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Barber Shop and First Aid Station of the Red Cross at Essey
- Description
- Graphite with brush and black ink wash. The sketch depicts a shell-torn building with an automobile parked inside. A line of clothes is visible through the large hole in the building. A group of men gather around a chair, where one man is being attended to by a barber. Army truck at right of building. The sketch is done on beige wove paper mounted on beige card ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-09-17
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25691
- catalog number
- 25691
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Newly Arrived Troops Debarking at Brest
- Description
- Charcoal and black ink wash sketch. A large ship is docked and troops walk down the gangplank onto land. Soldiers stand in the foreground and on the ship, waiting to disembark. The sketch is done on beige wove paper which is mounted on beige card that has been ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07-22
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- artist
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25697
- catalog number
- 25697
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
View of Chateau Thierry
- Description
- Pen and ink wash sketch with touches of graphite. Hills and battleground in distance. In the foreground, houses are being shelled; smoke rises from the shell targets. Parachutists in sky at left. The sketch is done on white wove paper mounted on tan card ruled with decorative lines. A printed label is attached to the mount beneath the sketch; it reads: "VIEW OF CHATEAU THIERRY/BY W. J. DUNCAN/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2862"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704
- catalog number
- 25704
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Monument Left to the Memory of the German Occupation of Flirey
- Description
- Brush and ink wash with touches of graphite. A large ruin stands in the center of the sketch; some small trees or shrubs are to the left of the ruin. Sketch done on beige wove paper mounted on tan card with decorative ruled graphite lines. A label attached to the center bottom of the card mount reads: "MONUMENT LEFT TO THE MEMORY OF THE/GERMAN OCCUPATION OF FLIREY/BY W. J. DUNCAN/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2854."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-09-13
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25696
- catalog number
- 25696
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Soldiers
- Description
- Very light ink wash and brush with touches of graphite. This interior scene is framed by the sloping roof of a loft. In the left foreground, a soldier sits on a cot holding his gun. A sword hangs on the wall in the right of the sketch. Two more soldiers can be seen through a doorway on the back wall of the loft. The sketch is done on beige wove paper mounted on beige card which is ruled in graphite. A label below the sketch, mounted on the card, reads: "AMERICAN SOLDIERS/Quartered in the loft of an old barn on the/outskirts of Chateau Thierry/BY W. J. DUNCAN/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2847"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25689
- catalog number
- 25689
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Last Remains of Montfaucon
- Description
- Ink wash, black crayon, and graphite sketch of a road leading through what remains of a village. An ambulance stands before a shell-torn building; several wagons and soldiers are standing in the road. Part of a wall stands on the right. Airplanes in sky. Sketch is on beige wove paper mounted on tan card that has decorative ruled lines. Below the sketch is a printed label, attached to the tan mount, that reads: "THE LAST REMAINS OF MONTFAUCON/FIRST-AID DRESSING STATION/BY W. J. DUNCAN/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2860."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-10-20
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25702
- catalog number
- 25702
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Blacksmith and Wagon Repair Shed on the Road to Boucq
- Description
- Graphite and black ink wash sketch. Outdoor scene of a large temporary structure where soldiers, horses, and wagons are gathered. One of the soldiers is shoeing a horse. Beige wove paper mounted on tan card ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-05-20
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25692
- catalog number
- 25692
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Cold Nights Coming on
- Description
- Pen, ink, and brush and ink wash sketch. Several soldiers sit around a fire in a large chimney in a structure that is in ruins. Parts of the roof are missing. Two soldiers on top of a platform in the right of the sketch. Two horses on the left of the sketch. A line of clothes runs from the platform to one side of the fireplace. The sketch is done on white wove paper mounted on tan card that is ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-10-20
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25693
- catalog number
- 25693
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Rue Beaudriere
- Description
- Graphite sketch of the town of Angers. Tall buildings line a street where groups of people are passing through. Several people carry umbrellas. There is a cart in the center of the street, in front of one the buildings. People can be seen in several windows of the building on the right of the sketch. Sketch done on white paper mounted on beige card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07-15
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25698
- catalog number
- 25698
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
San Mihiel Drive
- Description
- Lithographic crayon sketch. A large tree dominates this scene. Troops are advancing down a road from the left foreground to the right background. A shell-torn building is in the left background; wagon, men, and horses are in its yard. Ruined clock tower on far left. A soldier mounted on a horse is in roughly the center of the scene. Beige textured wove paper. On the bottom edge of the mount is an inscription that reads: "Troops leisurely advancing in St. Mihiel drive by/the ruins of Sichprey [sic], Sept. 13/18."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-09-13
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704C
- catalog number
- 25704C
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Village in Germany
- Description
- Graphite, black crayon, sanguine crayon, and white gouache sketch. Village scene with traditional houses around a road. Several children, a woman, and a dog are in the road, along with two American soldiers and a horse. On the far right of the sketch, several men are sitting together next to a fence. The sketch is done on dark gray wove paper and mounted on tan card ruled with decorative lines. Written beneath the sketch, on the tan card, is the following inscription: "An invaded village in Germany-/Zone of the American Army of Occupation".
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-12-15
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704A
- catalog number
- 25704A
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Baldwin Locomotives
- Description
- Highly detailed graphite sketch. A bridge frames the top portion of the drawing. Underneath this bridge are several locomotives and many men working in what appears to be a rail yard. On the other side of the bridge, in the background, are buildings. People on the bridge are looking down at the locomotives. The sketch is on beige wove paper mounted on beige card, which has decorative ruled graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-07-26
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25690
- catalog number
- 25690
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Lodging for the Night, 42nd Division
- Description
- Pen and ink with touches of graphite. Horizontal landscape format; village scene. Church tower and hills in background. Vehicles and a line of horses in foreground. Several soldiers moving about. Sketch done on white wove paper that is mounted on tan card with decorative ruled graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25686
- catalog number
- 25686
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Officer Mess in the Cellar
- Description
- Graphite, charcoal, and ink wash sketch. Five officers sit around a table while another soldier serves them. The chair in the foreground is empty. On the table, a lamp illuminates the men's faces and casts shadows on the walls. A box telephone and two bottles of wine are among the items on the table. The sketch is done on white wove paper mounted on beige card that is ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25688
- catalog number
- 25688
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Battery of French 75's
- Description
- Charcoal with brush and ink wash. Horizontal landscape format. Several buildings and trees in background; four pieces of field artillery going into action. Soldiers standing at each canon. Pile of shot on the ground in the left of the sketch. Sketch done on white wove paper mounted on beige card with decorative ruled lines in graphite on the mount.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-06-07
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25685
- catalog number
- 25685
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Front Held by the 88th Division
- Description
- Graphite, black crayon, and sanguine crayon sketch highlighted with turquoise gouache (or conte crayon). The scene is of a road lined with houses. A dead horse in the road is surrounded by descending crows. The half-timber houses are in ruins. Turquoise clouds in the background. The sketch is done on brown wove paper and then mounted on tan card. An inscription on the lower edge of the mount reads: "Front held by the 88th Division, October, 1918./Balschwiller, Alsace."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-10
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704B
- catalog number
- 25704B
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Main Street in Sanzey
- Description
- Brush and ink wash sketch with touches of graphite. Sketch depicts a road leading through a village. A church with a large steeple dominates the scene. Troops with horses and a wagon are on the right, lined up against the building. Smaller buildings and a water trough are on the left. Down the road, a mounted soldier's horse rears in front of a man and small child. The sketch is executed on white wove paper mounted on beige card that has been ruled with decorative graphite lines.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25703
- catalog number
- 25703
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American Troops Watering Horses
- Description
- Black ink and charcoal drawing of mounted troops in a large basin/pond of water. Immediately behind them is a group of badly damaged buildings. Church spire in the center background. Birds in sky. The sketch is done on beige wove paper mounted on brown (formerly beige) card, with decorative lines around the border ruled in graphite.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25704E
- catalog number
- 25704E
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Quiet Game in Essey
- Description
- Pen and ink sketch of an interior scene of a soldiers' billet. One group of men is playing cards while others watch. Another group appears on the other side of a clothesline. There is a horse in the left background. Sketch is done on tan card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918-09-15
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- associated person
- War Department
- maker
- Duncan, Walter Jack
- ID Number
- AF.25687
- catalog number
- 25687
- accession number
- 64592
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
