U.S.S. Columbia
Arms, John Taylor
1945
Artwork Information
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Title:
U.S.S. Columbia
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Artist:
Arms, John Taylor
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Artist Bio:
American 1887–1953
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Date:
1945
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Medium:
Etching and aquatint
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Dimensions:
12 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches
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Credit Line:
Wichita Art Museum, C.A. Seward Memorial Collection
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Object Number:
2017.23.2
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Display:
Not Currently on Display
About the Artwork
U.S.S. Columbia highlights printmaker John Taylor Arms’ breathtaking draftsmanship, a result of both the artist’s architectural training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his innate drawing ability. The artist’s experiences during World War I as a navigation officer for the U.S. Navy inspired his love for boats and ships, which—like the buildings he had studied in architecture school and that were subject matter for most of his prints—were marvels of human engineering. Nearly photographic in its detail, U.S.S. Columbia was one in a series of four prints Arms made and sold to raise funds for the navy during World War II. In Arms’ print, the extraordinary technical achievement of American engineers and workers serves as a visual reminder of the country’s superiority and assures the viewer of wartime victory.