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Lot 66

John Ford Clymer
(1907-1989)
Orchids for the Military 30 x 40in (76.2 x 101.6cm)

American Art

29 July 2020, 16:00 EDT

New York

Sold for US$6,075 inc. premium

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John Ford Clymer (1907-1989)

Orchids for the Military
signed 'J. Clymer' (lower left)
oil on canvas
30 x 40in (76.2 x 101.6cm)
Painted circa 1942-45.

Footnotes

Literature
American Art Review, January-February, 2012, vol. XXIV, no. 1, p. 24, illustrated.

Clymer served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve during World War II alongside his friend and fellow artist, Tom Lovell (1909-1997). Like the elite Marine Corps musicians, they held the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) and were stationed in Washington D.C. The two never saw combat or came close to those Marines who served in the Pacific theater of World War II. Instead, Staff Sergeants Clymer and Lovell became the Marine Corp's first artist-illustrator team. Both men created artwork for the Marine Corps magazine, Leatherneck and for the officers' publication, Marine Corps Gazette, as well as designs for patriotic posters. Orchids for the Military is believed to have been painted for one of these publications, most likely during his years of service stationed in Washington, D.C. during the war. In between illustrations for various stories and articles, Clymer and Lovell completed paintings depicting the history of the Marine Corps from its beginning. As a result, they created the first visual history of this powerful and legendary branch of the American military. Both men served honorably for the duration of the war and left service in 1945. Many of their paintings from this period are now at the Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. and the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia.

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