Much as once a week I like to take time off to cover warships (Wednesdays), on Sunday, I like to cover military art and the painters, illustrators, sculptors, and the like that produced them.
Combat Gallery Sunday: The Martial Art of Howard Chandler Christy
Born in Meigs Creek, Ohio in 1873, Howard Chandler Christy grew up on the farm but always had his hands on a pencil. Saving up some cash, he left out for New York City at age 17 and studied under noted artist William Merritt Chase. By 1893, he was supporting himself as a commercial artist penning and sketching for periodicals and newspapers in the big city.
When war came in 1898, the 25-year-old artist jumped on the opportunity for adventure in Cuba and shipped out with the U.S. Army as a war artist under contract to a number of NYC magazines to include Scribner’s. When he landed, he had to good fortune to be a tag along with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, aka the Rough Riders and soon struck up a personal friendship with Col. Teddy Roosevelt who had resigned his post as Asst. Sec of the Navy to swashbuckle his way across Cuba.
The Rough Rider’s actions, and Christy’s depiction of them, became famous hand in hand.
Three watercolor pencil sketches depict military figures of the Spanish-American War by Christy, 1899
Charge of the First and Tenth Cavalry 2d Brigade, Cavalry Division Cuba, 1898 by Howard Chandler Christy from US Army Art Collection
Howard Chandler Christy – Wounded Rough Rider
Christy and the Rough Riders help make each other famous
The Capture of El Caney by Howard Chandler Christy
After the war, the young man’s career took off and he soon became in demand. For the next two decades, he busied himself in book and magazine work but commanded impressive fees and could afford to become selective as to what he pursued. He also began branching out into more mediums and larger canvases, taking to covering the female form as a matter of art. This led to his Christy Girl as an alternative to the then-popular Gibson Girl. This gave the artist tremendous commercial success with Christy bringing down as much as $50,000 per year by the start of World War One–, which is about $1.1 million in today’s cash.
Christy was a big fan of beautiful women
The Woman in the Next Car 1909 by Howard Chandler Christy
Sir Walter Scott, The Lady Of The Lake (1910)
When the U.S. entered the War in 1917, Christy again served his country and created donated war art for recruiting posters, war bond drives, and Red Cross appeals.
Nancy Palmer Christy, modeling for the artist’s 1917 Navy recruitment poster.
The Motor Corps. Christy was an advocate of strong, modern women
Clear The Way (1918) Christy,
Buy Bonds!
Red Cross Appeal
Christy donated recruiting poster
Christy donated recruiting poster
Fly with the Marines
After the war, an expert on beautiful women, he judged the first Miss American pageant and became the go-to portrait artist in the country, painting official portraits for Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover as well producing lasting murals and paintings for historical scenes such as the signing of the Constitution.
Christy’s We the People
Many of these are national treasures, and are on display at Independence Hall, the Capitol, the Smithsonian, and the White House.
World War II saw more posters for the country’s war bonds while Christy continued his commercial art.
Army Notre Dame football cover 1938
Lucky Strike (1932) Christy, HC
He died in 1952.
The artist
His official papers are at Lafayette College and there are a number of collections of his work online
Thank you for your work, sir.
