Beschreibung:

Richard Wood Baldwin (American, 1921-2012). Five graphite sketches on paper, unframed and unsigned. The sketches are preliminary works for a mural at Pendleton Field, two with Guadalcanal Panel inscriptions; 20 x 18 in. (largest sheet). Baldwin completed a total of eight murals at Pendleton Field in 1943 and 1944. All the murals were oil on canvas or oil on masonite, and located in various rooms of the facility, including theaters and a Service Club. Pendleton Field opened in early 1941 as a site for an Army Corps station in the Northwest Air District and was named after Senator George Pendleton of Ohio. The overall mission of the new airbase was to train combat crews, specifically bombardment unit training. Later during the war, in 1944, its mission aligned with that of many other military airbases, focusing more heavily on supply and maintenance operations, which caused important cutbacks. By the end of the year, the airbase was in fact declared inactive, and though reactivated for a few months, it was declared "surplus property"at the end of 1945. No longer managed by the War Department, it fell under municipal supervision. The murals were removed after the war, and are believed to have been destroyed. Richard Baldwin, originally from Pennsylvania, served in the Air Force during WW2 and doubled as a combat artist during that time. All of the murals at Pendleton Field, including the ones for which these preparatory works were made, were completed prior to Baldwin's service in the Air Force, mostly in the Western Pacific. Literature: The Oregon Encyclopedia https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/pendleton_field/ Brown University Library, Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/collections/id_619/search_field=&q=Baldwin%2C+Richard+Wood+%28artist%29 Daily Local News, Richard W. Baldwin Obituary http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailylocal/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=157068658