The Battalion Artist

Insightful and thought provoking. A journey through difficult times captured through letter, photos and artwork from the author. I very much enjoyed this journey into this moment in time and a glimpse of life after. Wonderfully done. Thank you for documenting and sharing this journey. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

World War II. The Pacific Arena through the artist's eye!

I have always been drawn to art works depicting battles and wars and marveled at how the artists were able to work under pressure to produce some amazing pieces. I have spent time at major art galleries reflecting on varies artists' abilities. That interest is what drew me to this title.
Of course with the advent of the camera, paintings and sketches were no longer the only medium recording historical moments of life at the front. If your an ordinary serving seaman you use what media you have available. Natale Bellantoni used them all. Watercolor paintings, sketches, photographs and other realia. His paintings very much have that aura of late forties Realism (And how can they not be one asks!)
I marveled at how this talented young painter, attendee of the Massachusetts School of Art, was able to produce such a special record of the times, places and the work of the Seebees in the 78th Construction Battalion in the Pacific arena during World War II.
Putting this all lovingly together, the blended artifacts, photographs, jotted notes, and records along with interesting vignettes detailing both ordinary and extraordinary shipboard and island events confronted, Nat's daughter Nancy, has produced not only a fascinating historical record but an important artifact from the Pacific War zone.
I was drawn to Nat's paintings. They have a lively clarity, with depth and action that gives pause. From life on board ship, to the tranquility of untouched islands, to the intrusion of the war machine and all its accouterments they are are more than just a vivid record, they are an aesthetic response to the world Nat found himself in. Sometimes Nat's paintings are peaceful and reflect the untouched landscapes of the various islands, but with others Nat "was determined to see and show clearly how war had trespassed ... The intrusions were jarring to the eye." And indeed some of them do jar. The large planes on island beaches show this clearly.
An evocative and insightful artistic remembrance of times we should never forget.

A Hoover Institution Press ARC via NetGalley

For three years, three months, and three days, Nat Bellatoni of Massachusetts served in the South Pacific during World War II. Nat was a young artist and served with the Navy Seabees on different islands during the war, often not allowed to tell his loved ones where he was. As time allowed, even on short breaks, Nat would sketch his surroundings. Some of those sketches now see print, thanks to author Janice Blake, and Nat's daughter Nancy Bellatoni.

Th sketches here are just that ... sketches. But they range from a couple of quickly drawn lines to quite detailed works. It really is like paging through a sketchbook. This kind of first-hand account, from the 'average' enlisted man, is a rare treat. We get an honest (not media-hyped) look at the war and the men who served, and because of his locations, a sweet look at the Pacific islands.

The book is a little heavy with pre-book information. We have a full page dedication, a foreward, a note, a preface, and an introduction. Clearly everyone connected with the publication wanted to have something to say, which is too bad because we don't really need this much preface to a book. There is also an afterward, two 'abouts,' acknowledgments, and an additional resources list in this 120 page book.

The information about Nat and his life is compact, but serves the book just right. We want to know a little bit about the man who made the art, but we don't need an in-depth biography. We're putting a face and a history to one of the hundreds of thousands of men who served our country during a great war. Janice Blake does this nicely.

I would have liked even more artwork. I was hoping to find more of a coffee-table art book with art on every page, but while there is a lot of art, there are also a fair number of photos here as well, giving the book a slight feel of not really being sure what sort of book this is. A history book? A biography? An art book? It's a little bit of all three, but that's trying to do a lot in 120 pages. Blake does manage to balance this well, but I never quite got away from the feeling that the book was going back and forth on what it was trying to present.

I liked the timelines included, showing us where in the world Nat was station during the war and what Nat painted during that time.

Overall, a really good book.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Battalion Artist</em> by Janice Blake is a good look at one Navy Seabee during World War II, and his sketchbooks from his time in the South Pacific and should appeal to war historians, as well as those who like art books and those who enjoy biographies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.