Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Description
Maine artist Alice Harmon Shaw (1913-1994) depicted World War II mobile canteens, known as clubmobiles, at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth. In January 1943, she exhibited her watercolor series at the Sweat Memorial Art Museum, now part of the Portland Museum of Art.
During World War II, Shaw worked as a Red Cross occupational therapist. Her sister, Betty, served in the Red Cross Motor Corps. According to a newspaper clipping about the January 1943 exhibition, Shaw painted the watercolors from descriptions provided to her by her sister Betty.
The piece is also titled "Red Cross Mobile Canteen." On the reverse, Shaw painted an idyllic rolling hill scene, complete with a pasture fence, hay bales, stream and a large tree.
About This Item
- Title: Soldiers lined up for a meal, Cape Elizabeth, ca. 1942
- Creator: Alice Harmon Shaw
- Creation Date: circa 1942
- Subject Date: circa 1942
- Location: Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland County, ME
- Media: watercolor
- Local Code: 2012.337.001
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- American Red Cross
- Canteens (Establishments)--Maine--Cape Elizabeth
- Food service--Maine--Cape Elizabeth
- Fort Williams (Me.)
- Kirkpatrick, Alice Harmon Shaw, 1913-1994
- Women artists--Maine
- Women in war
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945--Art and the war
- World War, 1939-1945--Food supply--Maine
Other Keywords
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
More to Consider
Item 110845
Red Cross Canteen Service, Cape Elizabeth, ca. 1942
Item 110862
Chow at Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, ca. 1942
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