SPECIAL EXHIBIT: TOM LEA: LIFE AND WORLD WAR II
Tom Lea: LIFE and World War II
June 24, 2016 – January 1, 2017
On view in the Joe W. and Dorothy D. Brown Foundation Special Exhibit Gallery
The Museum's newest exhibit, Tom Lea: LIFE and World War II, features 26 iconic pieces of original works from LIFE magazine war correspondent and artist Tom Lea. An El Paso, Texas, native, Lea covered many aspects of the war—from experiencing convoy battles in the North Atlantic firsthand to hitting the beach at Peleliu in the Pacific with US Marines. In its June 11, 1945, issue, LIFE devoted seven pages to Lea's stark, visceral images of the Battle of Peleliu, including one of the most publicly recognizable artworks of the war, That 2,000 Yard Stare, which shows a hollow-eyed US Marine conveying the often unseen psychological wounds of combat veterans. Supplementing the artwork—which is on loan from the US Army Center of Military History—will be interpretive text panels produced by the Museum with content provided by the Tom Lea Institute. Additional artifacts will include Lea's drawing table, brushes, and easel on loan from the Tom Lea Institute, and sketches drawn by Lea on loan from the collection of Judy and Jamey Clement. Oral histories of Peleliu veterans collected by the Museum will also be featured.
This exhibit contains images of a very graphic nature, including scenes that may be too intense for younger viewers. Parental guidance is suggested.
Sponsored by The Woldenberg Foundation
Additional support provided by: The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston
James III, Judy, and Jamey Clement
Special thanks to Adair Margo, the Tom Lea Institute, and the US Army Center of Military History
Public Programming
Special Presentation: Tom Lea: Art and War in the 20th Century
Tuesday, September 6
6:00 p.m. Program | 7:00 p.m. Book Signing
Louisiana Memorial Pavilion
Special Presentation: Tom Lea and the Battle of Peleliu
Friday, November 11
1:00 p.m.
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
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