WWI Illustrators of America: How Harry Townsend and F.C. Yohn Helped Win the War

Join nationally renowned author, James Thompson, at the Norwalk Historical Society's Mill Hill Historic Park on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 7:00pm for an introspective look at World War I artists, most specifically Norwalk artists, Harry Townsend and F.C. Yohn. WWI Illustrators of America: How Harry Townsend and F.C. Yohn Helped Win the War is part of the Norwalk Historical Society's World War I Centennial Lecture Series.  World War I posters on loan from the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT and Townsend and Yohn's art work from the City of Norwalk Collection will be on display. The lecture will take place in the newly restored 1835 Town House at Mill Hill, located at 2 East Wall Street in Norwalk, CT. Follow signs to parking. Admission is $5.00 and tickets can be purchased at here

Generously sponsored in part by DoubleTree by Hilton and the Norwalk Arts Commission.

James Thompson, author of Painting America’s Portrait – How Illustrators Created Their Art and its sequel, Painting America’s Portrait – How Illustrators Created America, will commemorate two of Norwalk’s greatest artists. Harry Townsend and F. C. Yohn, both well-known before WWI, secured lasting fame with works they produced during the Great War. Townsend was recruited into the American Expeditionary Force to create a pictorial history of “our boys” in the field. Yohn spent the war in his New York studio depicting the hardship and heroism of the men who were “making the world safe for democracy”. Yohn’s images were seen by untold numbers of readers of America’s most popular magazines. Thompson will explain how Uncle Sam used the art of men like Harry Townsend and F. C. Yohn to win the war, and how the images they created reshaped the way Americans perceived themselves. He will present examples of both man’s work and show how they became stars in the constellation of American Illustration.

In addition to his two most recent books, James Thompson, has written numerous books on the ideas of history including: The Birth of Virginia’s Aristocracy (2009), Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment – Paris 1785 (2014), and George Washington’s Mulatto Man – Who Was Billy Lee? Mr. Thompson lectures on the topics he discusses in his books and has spoken at the US Naval Academy, the Virginia Historical Society, the DAR Library in Washington, DC, and the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society Forum in Charlottesville. He has presented lecture series in continuing education programs at the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, George Mason University, and the University of Delaware.

Sponsored by the Double Tree by Hilton and the Norwalk Arts Commission

For more information: visit www.norwalkhistoricalsociety.org, e-mail info@norwalkhistoricalsociety.org , or call 203-846-0525. The Norwalk Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  

Photo Credit: 5th Marines on the Last Night of the War Frederick C. Yohn (1875–1933)  1920  
Courtesy Navy Art Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command