Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler – Art and War

Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler — Art and War is a landmark exhibition that encompasses one of the persistent motifs that Abstract Expressionist artist Jon Schueler infused into his paintings and wove into his writings—his experiences during World War II when he served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Corps. His war memories and undiagnosed PTSD haunted him and continually found expression in his post-war work.

Following medical retirement in 1944, Jon Schueler embarked on a career path of painting, first in San Francisco and then in New York. In 1957, after successful exhibitions, he consciously chose a kind of creative exile and went to Mallaig, a small fishing village on the west coast of Scotland in sight of the Isle of Skye. Without fully understanding why, he centered himself in this rugged, volatile environment for months at a time over decades, painting quickly in inspired bursts of energy charged with his full life force. The weather and light of this area became a touchstone for his preoccupation with the power of nature—whether expressed tumultuously or in subtle and hardly visible forms. Vigorously responding to the emotions evoked by the clouds, sky, sea and land, he lived, in a way, inside of his paintings, and without realizing it, slowly started healing his unseen war wounds.

Lost Man Blues: Jon Schueler — Art and War will, for the first time, feature a collective group of fifteen paintings that reflect Jon Schueler’s war experiences. Adopting a perspective from the skies, these oils, painted in NY from 1979–1989, form a powerful and cohesive visual testament to his post-war struggles, battle for memory and creative expression. In addition, there are eleven paintings that serve as a visual counterpoint—reflecting his emotionally charged responses to nature and his memories of the changeable skyscape and seascape of his beloved Scotland.

Lost Man Blues takes its title from the painting in the exhibition commemorating the disappearance of a plane belonging to his squadron, one that did not return to England after a bombing mission over Germany. A selection of passages from “The Sound of Sleat: A Painter’s Life,” Jon Schueler’s memoir, will accompany the paintings in the exhibition, reflecting both his harrowing war recollections and ruminations on his creative process.

-Marissa Roth, 2018

The exhibition was curated by Marissa Roth and was inspired by her ongoing dedication to addressing the consequences of war. Roth feels that Schueler’s breathtaking output as an artist, and his unyielding quest for truth, offer valuable insight into the way he came to terms with his lingering war trauma through his own creative powers. This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Howard P. Arnold Foundation. This exhibition is supported by the following individuals through their gifts to the FWMoA 2020 Annual Fund: Terra Hipp and Brian Miller, Brenda and Steve Fishbaugh, Joyce Armstrong Brown, The Silletto Family, in memory of C. David Silletto, Paul O. Sauerteig and Kathy Rogers, Drs. Barbara Nohinek and Christopher Zee-Cheng, Sea and Jonathan Grandon, and three Anonymous donors.