Homage to John Marts
November 2, 2007 - 9:03am to 9:03am
December 30, 2007

Historic military paintings by J. D. Nelson and period photographs by Ival Lawhon from the Vietnam War era 

James Davis Nelson and Ival Lawhon, Jr. served together in Vietnam between 1967 – 68 with the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment (Mech), 25th Infantry Division, of the United States Army. This exhibit represents the shared experiences of two young soldiers, memorializes those comrades who did not survive, and conveys the matured perspective of two men now forty years further into their lives. The Atchison Art Association will host a reception honoring the artists at the Muchnic Gallery Friday, November 2, from 5 to 7 p.m.

J. D. (Jim) Nelson was born in Beloit, Kan. in 1943. His father was a professor of philosophy; his mother a violinist. Mr. Nelson started to paint at age fourteen, later won a Ford Foundation grant and began fine art studies at the Art Student’s League in New York in 1962.
He was employed as a mural painter for the renowned industrial design firm Raymond Lowey, Inc. and was working in a studio on New York’s Fifth Avenue when in 1967 Mr. Nelson was drafted.

By contrast, Ival Lawhon, Jr. was born and raised in Saint Joseph, Mo. where he graduated from high school in 1966. Mr. Lawhon joined the Army in October and following his training, arrived in Vietnam in April of 1967. His father encouraged Mr. Lawhon to take photographs during his youth. Mr. Lawhon purchased his first 35 mm camera in Vietnam and during twelve months of combat documented the war in hundreds of Kodachrome slides from an infantryman’s point-of-view.
Mr. Lawhon’s prints included in this exhibit are reproduced from those slides, most taken at the age of nineteen in 1967 and early 1968.
Never before have these images been presented to the broad public.

Visual media remained a constant in the lives of both men. After three and a half months in combat, Mr. Nelson was selected to be a Brigade Draftsman, and later transferred to division headquarters as a combat artist with the 18th Military Historical Detachment. In the years since his discharge from the Army, Mr. Nelson has become widely known for his historical, religious and American western paintings and portraiture. His work is in numerous private and corporate collections, and widely published in illustrated books, including his 2003 memoir of Vietnam entitled Vietnam War Paintings: Art by James Davis Nelson.

Mr. Lawhon returned to Saint Joseph to attend college following nearly three years in the Army. In 1973 Mr. Lawhon received his bachelors degree from Arizona State University and was subsequently hired by the St. Joseph News-Press where he continues to work as a photo-journalist thirty years later. In those years Mr. Lawhon’s photographs have been published around the world through news agencies, published in numerous books and garnered awards for excellence at the local, state and national level. In addition, Mr. Lawhon has taught photography at Missouri Western State University for more than thirty years; is actively involved with 22nd Infantry Regimental Society and shares his memories of the war with students and civic groups.

Asked about the reason for his interest in portraying the Vietnam War in his artwork, Mr. Nelson states first his own experience as a witness to the war; second the bravery and sacrifice of many good friends there; and concludes:

I have consequently been concerned that my paintings be objective, depicting persons and events just as they actually were; neither glamorizing, nor – as television and the movies tend to do – demonizing them.
I wanted it to be fairly said:
“Yes, that’s the way it really was.”

John Davis Nelson and his wife Sharon reside on their family wheat farm in Jewell, Kan. Ival Lawhon, Jr. and his wife Renee reside in
Saint Joseph, Mo. This exhibit is a result of their friendship.

More information about J. D. Nelson and examples of his work may be seen at www.jdnelsonportraits.com

A retrospective of Ival Lawhon's photojournalism for the year 2006 may be viewed at www.stjoenews-press.com/ftp/pics2006/ival

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