The Camouflage of War and Canvas
The year is 1914 when Joseph E. Burgess earns his B. A. degree from Syracuse University. He moves from the academic halls of the University of Illinois, where he serves as an Associate Professor of Art, into the chaos of global conflict. The transition is abrupt. As a second lieutenant in the Army, his brush is no longer used for portraiture or illustration, but for the strategic art of deception. He works with camouflage units, applying his understanding of form and color to hide military assets. This technical mastery earns him citations from President Woodrow Wilson and the British high command.
The discipline of camouflage informs a career that refuses to settle into a single lane. He moves between the precision of portraiture and the spiritual weight of religious works. In the quiet spaces of the Dominican Nun's Shrine at Summit, New Jersey, his "Rosary Group" and "St. Joseph, the Worker" find their place. He captures the likeness of the era, from the athletic form of baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson to the political presence of Calvin Coolidge.
A Life in Portraits and Devotion
Life settles into the urban rhythm of the Chelsea Hotel on West Twenty-third Street. Here, the artist maintains a presence that spans the secular and the sacred. His hands move between the delicate requirements of illustration and the heavy textures of religious painting. He transitions from his role as an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Illinois to the tactical precision of a second lieutenant.
His work moves through these modes:
- Portraiture: Capturing the likenesses of figures like the baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson and Calvin Coolidge.
- Religious Art: Creating works like the "Rosary Group" and "St. Joseph, the Worker," which hang in the Dominican Nun's Shrine.
- Military Application: Designing camouflage art that earned citations from President Woodrow Wilson and the British high command.
- Diverse Media: Working across painting, illustration, crafts, and celebrations.
He dies in 1961 at the Veterans Administration Hospital at First Avenue and Twenty-fourth Street. He leaves behind his wife, June, and his son, J. William Burgess.
