Articles

Humanities Texas is pleased to announce Tom Lea: Brushstrokes from the Frontlines of World War II, a new traveling exhibition created in partnership with the Tom Lea Institue.

El Paso artist Tom Lea was the first Accredited War Artist-Correspondent hired by LIFE magazine to paint World War II as it was being experienced by U.S. and Allied troops. Covering WWII was central to LIFE’s mission. When the magazine hired Lea, its circulation regularly reached a quarter of the U.S. population, making it one of the nation’s principal sources of news about the war. LIFE’s War Artist-Correspondents brought WWII home to American citizens, many of whom had family members or friends serving in conflicts overseas.

From 1941 to 1945, Lea traveled more than 100,000 miles to record military activities in places like the South Pacific, China, and Peleliu. His most iconic paintings were published in eleven issues of LIFE and became some of the most recognized war paintings in the world. Brushstrokes from the Frontlines chronicles Lea’s journey and his response to the events he witnessed through thirty-six giclée prints of his original work from the period.

This wall-hanging exhibition is available to reserve now through the Humanities Texas traveling exhibitions program. To learn more about reserving it for your venue, please contact our exhibitions coordinator at exhibitions@humanitiestexas.org.

Tom Lea: Brushstrokes from the Frontlines of World War II is made possible in part with funding from the Summerlee Foundation, the Texas Historical Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clement Jr.