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"Blessed are the Peacemakers": Violet Oakley's The Angel of Victory (1941)

February 8 - May 25, 2014

 

The Delaware Art Museum is presenting "Blessed are the Peacemakers": Violet Oakley's The Angel of Victory (1941), from February 8 through May 25, 2014. Oakley's The Angel of Victory, originally painted for Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Airfield and now in the Museum's permanent collections, was the first of her 25 wartime altarpieces, completed just two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thanks to a recent gift from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia of over a dozen preliminary drawings for The Angel of Victory, this exhibition reunites the altarpiece with its preparatory studies for the first time, allowing an exciting exploration of Oakley's creative process. (right: Violet Oakley (1874-1961), The Angel of Victory Triptych, 1941,  Oil on wood panel, 48 x 95 1/2 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Gift of Joseph Flom and Martin Horwitz, 1975)

"This opportunity to explore the creative process of an artist whose work is represented in both our American paintings and Illustration collection is truly remarkable," explains Margaretta Frederick, Chief Curator at the Delaware Art Museum. "Despite the short amount of time she was given to complete altarpieces during the war, Oakley made almost a dozen drawings and oil studies for each of them."

Violet Oakley (1874-1961), one of the first American women to find fame in the field of public mural painting, in addition to success as an illustrator and stained glass designer, devoted her 60-year artistic career to the quest for a just and peaceful world. During World War II, Oakley joined with the Citizens Committee of the Army and Navy to produce portable altarpieces for use on American battleships, military bases, and airfields around the world. The Angel of Victory altarpiece utilizes scenes from the Christian tradition to instill the American war effort with universal implications, depicting it as a fight not against other nations but against the forces of darkness and evil. The artist portrays the American fight as a sure victory, providing the embattled troops with hope, comfort, and confidence.

"Blessed are the Peacemakers": Violet Oakley's The Angel of Victory (1941) was curated by Jeffrey Richmond Moll, a PhD Candidate in Art History at the University of Delaware and the Museum's first Alfred Appel, Jr. Curatorial Fellow. This two-month Fellowship is available for graduate students working towards a museum career. "As a doctoral student, the Appel Fellowship provided me with an ideal career opportunity," says Moll. "Through research, gallery layout, and development of educational materials, it challenged me to do the hard work of telling the story of Violet Oakley's process and her wartime altarpieces through the thoughtful selection and arrangement of objects." "Blessed are the Peacemakers": Violet Oakley's The Angel of Victory (1941) was organized by the Delaware Art Museum.

 

About Violet Oakley

Violet Oakley (1874-1961) was born into an artistic family and found her early efforts at drawing heartily encouraged. She studied at the Art Students League in New York and in Paris with noted portraitist of the day, Edmund Aman-Jean. She returned to Philadelphia and and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and with Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute. Pyle's recognition of her sense of color and ability in composition caused him to push her toward stained glass design and work in a larger scale than illustration allowed. The artist herself always felt that Pyle had been one of the two main influences on her work, the other being the Pre-Raphaelites.

The first and most important commission of Violet Oakley's career was to design and execute murals for the Governor's Reception Room in the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1902. She created nine murals for the Senate Chamber and the 16 murals for the Supreme Court Room.

Oakley was also sent to Geneva, Switzerland to record the beginning of the League of Nations in 1927. She exhibited the work from this trip in prominent locations along the mid-Atlantic coast, including the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts. In 1948 Drexel Institute awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree. Violet Oakley continued to work until the day of her death, February 25, 1961.

The Delaware Art Museum collections now include 53 works by Violet Oakley representing all facets of her career.

 

(above: Violet Oakley (1874-1961), Study for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941, Charcoal on paper, 16 x 23 1/8 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012)

 

Wall texts from the exhibition

 
Introductory text panel
 
Violet Oakley (1874-1961), one of the first American women to find fame in the burgeoning field of public mural painting, in addition to success as an illustrator and stained-glass designer, devoted her 60-year artistic career to the quest for a just and peaceful world. Inspired by the Quaker faith, she considered her art to be a vehicle for social change, believing that beauty could lift up communities and give rise to a moral society.
 
During World War II, the elderly Oakley continued this artistic mission through her work with the Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Originally founded to provide leisure materials and entertainment to boost troop morale, the Committee adopted a new initiative in the fall of 1941 to produce portable altarpieces for on American battleships, military bases, and airfields around the world. The Committee hoped that these triptychs (three-paneled altarpieces) might "carry comfort and strength to this generation in its overwhelming task of defending the present and preserving the future."
 
Oakley's The Angel of Victory Triptych, painted for Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field and now in the Museum's permanent collection, was one of the earliest triptychs commissioned by the Citizens Committee. It was the first of 25 wartime altarpieces the artist created for the Committee, completed just two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This exhibition reunites the finished painting with preliminary studies for the project for the first time, allowing an exploration of Oakley's creative process. Oakley responded to this volatile moment in world history by infusing her religious work with a democratic spirit echoing her lifelong desire for peace.
 
This exhibition is made possible by the Hallie Tybout Exhibition Fund. Exhibition research funding was provided by the Alfred Appel, Jr. Curatorial Fellowship.
 
Additional support is provided by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
 
 

Didactac panel for "Christ Stilling the Storm"
 
Triptychs can be set up in a jiffy. And whether it be in a steaming jungle, or on the rolling deck of a fighting ship, or in the back of a truck under the fire of guns, there is created an altar?a church.
Hallowell V. Morgan, Secretary, Philadelphia Triptych Committee (1944)
 
"Christmas in Ulithi Spent in Prayer," showing Oakley's "Christ Stilling the Storm" during Protestant and Catholic services aboard the USS Massachusetts
Photograph
Published in the USS Massachusetts (BB 59) World War II Cruise Book (1942­45). Collection of Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts
 
Chaplains Serve in All Theaters of Operation: Protestant Service in Australia
Photograph
Published in The Chaplain Serves: A Narrative and Factual Report Covering the Activity of the Chaplain Corps (1944). Violet Oakley Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
Constructed from lightweight materials (waterproof plywood for the Army and bullet-proof steel for the Navy), these portable altarpieces allowed troops to erect a makeshift church anywhere. Chaplains and soldiers alike recounted how the beauty and churchly appearance of the triptych could produce a dignified, spiritual atmosphere, which overcame the clamor and ugliness of war. In the absence of a church or chapel?as seen in the two photographs above?wherever an altar was, there too was a "church."

 
Didactac panel for monograms
 
"The Angel of Victory Triptych" for Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky (No. 112), by Violet Oakley, 1943
Photograph
Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
As Oakley's work with the Citizens Committee continued, the organization frequently requested that she re-execute old designs for new patrons. The two drawings at right illustrate Oakley's attempts to revise her aviator-oriented The Angel of Victory Triptych of 1941 for the army audience at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky.
 
Although the 1943 (second) version of The Angel of Victory Triptych is currently unlocated, a period photograph (reproduced above) illustrates Oakley's alterations to the original composition. The constellation of airplanes and the crowd of airmen have been removed and a large panel adorned with elegant initial letters has been added beneath the three images. This lettering more clearly identifies both the figures themselves and the painting's comforting message of victory and peace, highlighting the words Pax Vobiscum (or "Peace be with you") at center. These new initials also allude to Oakley's lifelong interest in the art of the Middle Ages?when illuminated manuscripts featured similarly elaborate capital letters.
 
 
 
Didactac panel for triptych
 
The Angel of Victory Triptych, 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Oil on wood panel
Gift of Joseph Flom and Martin Horwitz, 1975
DAM 1975?129
 
Finished just two weeks after the American declaration of war, Oakley's first altarpiece nevertheless declares Victory and Peace to its viewers. While a seemingly paradoxical subject for this historical moment, it was, in fact, completely in line with Oakley's artistic and spiritual agenda. The artist received praise at the end of her life for capturing the triumph of love over hatred, and law and order over a fallen human race. Her wartime altarpieces likewise show men resurrected, great conflicts resolved, relationships restored, and a world redeemed.
 
The Angel of Victory Triptych utilizes scenes from the Christian tradition to instill the American war effort with universal implications, depicting it as a fight not against other nations but against the forces of darkness and evil. This instinct to transform World War II into a grand spiritual battle might also indicate Oakley's desire to morally justify the American war effort and thereby appease her staunch pacifist beliefs.
 
Oakley's triptych asserts that good will inevitably prevail. The Archangel Michael and St. George stand firm on either side of the central scene with sheathed swords, having already defeated their evil foe. The Angel Gabriel, at center, proclaims "Put Up Thy Sword," heralding a new era of peace. The artist portrays the American fight as a sure victory, providing the embattled troops with hope, comfort, and confidence. Oakley's apocalyptic The Angel of Victory Triptych portrays an end to global conflict and predicts an ideal world of "Universal Community."
 

Didactac panel for war symbolism
 
Glen Mitchell, Paratrooper Triptych for Fort Benning Airborne School, Georgia (No. 267)
Photograph
Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
Virginia Adams, St. George Triptych for the USS Heywood (No. 245)
Photograph
Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
Edith Emerson, The Archangel Michael Triptych for the USS Yorktown (No. 376)
Photograph
Citizens Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Force Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
Like Violet Oakley, many artists took up the theme of warrior saints and angels in their wartime triptychs, revealing the broader American tendency to see the war in universal, spiritual terms. In one triptych for the USS Heywood (an attack transport ship that brought American troops to the Pacific), St. George appears as an ancestral Christian soldier, standing astride the slain dragon and watching over a battalion of marching infantrymen. Similarly, in an altarpiece for the Fort Benning Airborne School, a kneeling, armored angel takes on the guise of a heavenly paratrooper, as he and his airborne, American compatriot stare off at six parachutes floating beneath a bright white cross.

Object labels from the exhibition

 
The Angel of Victory Triptych, 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Photograph mounted to cardboard
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2013
DAM 2013?10
 
Immensely popular in its time, The Angel of Victory became an emblem of Oakley's late career and of the Citizens Committee itself. This photograph is probably a proof for the triptych-themed postcards and Christmas cards that the Committee sold to raise funds for their efforts during the war.
 
 
 
Composition Study for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite and ink on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?20
 
 
 
Composition Study for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Charcoal on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?16
 
In her early days studying with illustrator Howard Pyle, Oakley developed an artistic routine that she followed for the rest of her career. Exhaustive research for a subject was followed by numerous study drawings leading up to the finished piece. Despite the short amount of time she was given to complete altarpieces during the war, Oakley made almost a dozen drawings for each of them.
 
 
 
Composition Study for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite on tracing paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?15
 
These three sketches demonstrate how Oakley moved from a rough, initial conception of a work to a more complete composition. Yet, when compared with the finished triptych, even the most polished drawings (like the gridded one here) show that the composition was not complete until the final brushstroke.
 
 
 
Panel Study for St. George, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Tempera and oil on masonite panel
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?31
 
Immediately upon completion the altarpieces were shipped to their wartime destinations, before they could be viewed by the public at home. These large oil studies and the numerous associated drawings allowed Oakley to display her work on American soil. Oakley exhibited her preparatory studies frequently, at the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Corcoran Museum of Art, in addition to opening her studio regularly. This suggests her work for the war effort was central to both her personal artistic vision and her professional aspirations.
 
 
 
Figure Study for the Angel Gabriel, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Charcoal and white chalk on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?27
 
Oakley began her career as an illustrator, and the strong outlines and flattened features of her figures, like those in The Angel of Victory or the large panel studies on this wall, reflect trends in American illustration at this time. Yet, as the carefully rendered studies for the figure of Gabriel indicate, Oakley was quite skilled at naturalistically capturing the human form.
 
 
 
Study for the Angel Gabriel, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Charcoal and white chalk on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?26
 
 
 
Study for the Angel Gabriel, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Charcoal and white chalk on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?24
 
Oakley considered careful black and white studies from live models to be foundational to any painting. She believed that it was only through numerous sketches that the essence of the figures could be captured, thereby make a painting accessible to viewers.
 
 
 
Panel Study for the Angel Gabriel, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Tempera and oil on masonite panel
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?30
 
In preparing this composition, Oakley searched for biblical and historical models that would merge the mission of the airmen of Floyd Bennett Field with that of their heavenly counterparts. The winged warrior Michael, for example, serves as a timeless emblem for fighter pilots. Smaller details emphasize the connection between aviators and altarpiece figures. For instance, the gold designs on Gabriel's heavenly vestments echo the shape of the airmen's parachute harnesses, and the dove of the Holy Spirit above Gabriel's head parallels the imagery of the Naval Aviator Badge at the angel's feet.
 
 
 
Study for Center Panel of The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Red chalk and graphite on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?25
 
 
 
Study for a Pilot, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Brown crayon on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?23
 
Oakley greatly admired the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri for his ability to fuse eternal themes with contemporary subjects. This practice was an important aspect of the composition of these wartime altarpieces, which were part of religious services in distant lands and makeshift locations. The two sketches at left show Oakley's efforts to include accurate renderings of American airmen to accompany the sacred central figures.
 
 
 
Panel Study for the Archangel Michael, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Tempera and oil on masonite panel
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?29
 
Oakley used a grid system to expand smaller preparatory sketches into full-scale studies, called "cartoons." These full-size sheets, such as the red chalk drawing of the Archangel Michael (at left), were used to transfer the design onto the wood panels of the altarpiece. Because the paint was applied very thinly, with the passage of time, one can often see the corresponding red grid lines beneath the surface of the final version, as in the case of The Angel of Victory triptych. (These preparatory grid marks would not have been visible at the time the painting was completed).
 
 
 
Cartoon for the Archangel Michael, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Red chalk and charcoal on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?28
 
 
 
Monograms for the Archangel Michael and St. George, Second Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?21
 
 
 
Victory Monogram and Study for Dedication Text, Second Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?22
 
 
 
Text and Composition Study for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Ink on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?17
 
Initially Oakley chose the Apostle Paul's words at the end of Romans, Chapter 8 as her inscription for The Angel of Victory, comparing the American troops to emboldened "conquerors" in a spiritual army, and their military campaigns abroad to a greater battle against the forces of evil. As this biblical passage also attests, Oakley saw the war as one that could not be lost, for, as Paul writes, "neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation" can overcome the power and love of God.
 
 
 
Text for The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Ink and graphite on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?18
 
Oakley eventually selected inscriptions that describe a heavenly victory over evil achieved by the angels. In her steadfast desire for peace, she pairs the story of Michael's defeat of "the Dragon" from Revelation, Chapter 12 with an image of the Archangel sheathing his sword and standing atop the vanquished beast. Likewise, Gabriel holds out a "palm of Victory and Peace," referencing the angel's message in the Gospel of Luke that Christ's birth has brought "peace on earth, goodwill toward men."
 
 
 
Study for Text on Left Panel (Archangel Michael) of The Angel of Victory Triptych, c. 1941
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Ink on paper
Gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012
DAM 2012?19
 
This drawing indicates the careful calculations and textual changes that Oakley made in order to place the inscriptions around each of the figures. Note, for instance, the lines and numbers interspersed throughout this study for the left-hand panel of the Archangel Michael. Even with such careful preparatory work, however, the drawing marks visible beneath the surface of the finished altarpiece indicate that Oakley made alterations in the design right up until completion.
 
 
 
Study for The Whole Armor of God Triptych, c. 1940­50
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite on paper
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation
 
 
 
Study for The Whole Armor of God Triptych, c. 1940­50
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
Ink on paper
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation
 
The armored warriors in these two studies for an unexecuted altarpiece recall Oakley's depictions of Michael and St. George in The Angel of Victory Triptych. But, rather than specific biblical or mythological characters, these figures are purely symbolic. The accompanying text describes how the soldiers wear "the breastplate of righteousness," "the shield of faith," and "the helmet of salvation." They fight "not against flesh and blood, butagainst the rulers of the Darkness of this World." This theme captures the widespread American belief that U.S. troops were fighting for a greater cause--the preservation of "Faith, Family and Freedom."
 
 
 
The Great Wonder: A Vision of the Apocalypse, c. 1924
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
Color reproduction
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation
 
Oakley's interest in the triptych format began long before World War II. She had an abiding interest in the art and literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance art. Her home was filled with curiosities from her European travels (such as a 14th-century Italian triptych visible in the photograph at the entrance to this gallery). This color reproduction of a design for the altarpiece for the Alumni House at Vassar College (1924) is her first attempt at working in the triptych format and a precursor to her later altarpieces.
 
 
 
Composition Study for Christ Stilling the Storm Triptych, 1943­44
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
 
Graphite and ink on paper
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation
 
 
 
Maquette for The Madonna of the Crusaders Triptych, c. 1942­45
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
Tempera and gold paint on hinged wood panels
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation
 
Many of the private patrons who funded Oakley's altarpieces and the military officers who received them visited the artist's studio to see her progress and even to critique her work. To share these designs and attract future commissions, Oakley created numerous study drawings as well as scale models, like this maquette for a larger triptych of The Madonna of the Crusaders.
 
 
 
Dedication at Chapel of Philadelphia Navy Yard, with Violet Oakley and officers in front of her triptych, "Christ the Carpenter," December 30, 1945
Photograph
Violet Oakley Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
 
Painting triptychs came to be seen as an artist's wartime obligation as well as a patriotic and spiritual duty. As the photograph at left suggests, these altarpieces gave artists a symbolic means of joining the war. Many were dedicated in impressive formal military ceremonies, like the one pictured here at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where artists like Violet Oakley (standing at center) were celebrated for their artistic contributions to the war effort.
 

Wall quotes from the exhibition

 
Pure drawing takes no note of color. Correct drawing is the basis of all painting. Painting is only colored drawing.
- Violet Oakley, "Questions from the Children," Violet Oakley papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1926
 
 
Many of [the altarpieces] will come back as battle scarred as any veteran or lie with the good ship that bore it at the bottom of the sea. But all will have served the cause that is the cause of all of us.
- H.I. Brock, "Altars of Freedom," New York Times, October 18, 1942
 

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