President Truman informs reporters of Japan’s surrender at a pres conference in the Oval Office. August 14, 1945.
(photo courtesy of Times Life)

Japan acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration calling for their unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945 (August 14 in the United States) marked the end of World War II, three years, eight months, and seven days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the official signing of the surrender took place on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, victory was celebrated in the United States, Britain, and Australia with a two day holiday beginning on August 15. Soldiers and civilians alike rejoiced in the streets of cities across the United States and Europe. When the announcement came at 3 a.m. in Hawaii, every ship in Pearl Harbor set off its store of rockets.

Amidst the celebrations, the gravity of the situation was not to be forgotten. King George VI addressed the British people from Buckingham Palace, saying:

“Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realize that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicing today.”

These consequences are still felt today. Of the almost 300,000 American combat deaths during World War II, more than one-third occurred in the Asia-Pacific Theater. This “Victory in Japan” Day should serve not only as a day to remember the final Allied victory, but also as a day to remember those who so nobly lost their lives fighting and winning the war in the Pacific Theater.

Waterloo Daily Courier, August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.)

Sixty-five years ago this was but one of the newspaper headlines as the world awoke to read about the end of World War II. Victory in Japan, “V-J” Day, August 15, 1945.

Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration calling for its unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945 (August 14 in the United States) marked the end of World War II, three years, eight months, and seven days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the official signing of the surrender took place on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, victory was celebrated in the United States, Britain, and Australia with a two day holiday beginning on August 15. Soldiers and civilians alike rejoiced in the streets of cities across the United States and Europe. When the announcement came at 3 a.m. in Hawaii, every ship in Pearl Harbor set off its store of rockets.

President Truman informs reporters of Japan’s surrender at a press conference in the Oval Office. August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Time Life)

Amidst the celebrations, the gravity of the situation was not to be forgotten. King George VI addressed the British people from Buckingham Palace, saying:
“Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realize that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicing today.”

These consequences are still felt today. Of the almost 300,000 American combat deaths during World War II, more than one-third occurred in the Asia-Pacific Theater. This “Victory in Japan” Day should serve not only as a day to remember the final Allied victory, but also as a day to remember those who so nobly lost their lives fighting and winning the war in the Pacific Theater.

Ted Stevens, who served as a United States Senator representing Alaska for more than 40 years, was killed in a plane crash yesterday. He was the longest serving Republican senator in history. This was, however, only his most recent service to a nation he loved which included senior positions in the Eisenhower Administration, a key role in work that led to the establishment of the United States Olympic Committee, and numerous positions representing Alaska in various oil and gas and conservation issues.

But we remember this remarkable American for his service to the United States during World War ll as a member of the “Greatest Generation”. After being rejected for service in the Navy for failing the vision exam, he overcame the problem through a course of prescribed eye exercises. A top student in the Army Air Force program, Stevens subsequently received his wings in 1944 and served in the China-Burma-India theater where he piloted transport planes. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross among other citations for his heroic service. Senator Lisa Murkowski stated yesterday: “His entire life was dedicated to public service—from his days as a pilot in World War ll to his four decades of service in the United States Senate. He truly was the greatest of the “Greatest Generation”.

Over the years Senator Stevens was a steadfast supporter of The National World War ll Museum in New Orleans. In late spring 2007, as our work to garner support of key senators and members of the House of Representatives was at a critical phase, Senator Stevens emphatically endorsed our efforts. A copy of his letter to me follows.

The Monuments Men Foundation mourns the loss of this public servant and veteran of the greatest war in history. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.

Monuments Man Sherman Lee: 1918-2010. Photo Courtesy of NARA.

On July 11, 2008 we lost a great hero, Monuments Man Sherman Lee. Today I would like to share his story with you – we honor him by remembering.

A renowned expert on Asian art, Sherman Lee served as a Lieutenant in the Naval reserve from 1944 until 1946, when he began working as an advisor to the MFAA in Tokyo. Unlike in Europe, the Monuments Men were not sent to Japan until after hostilities ended in 1945, and even then there were only a handful of Monuments Men and several Japanese assistants and colleagues charged with inspecting cultural property across Japan. Their mission was to inventory all Japanese art and monuments, including buildings, gardens, and national parks, to evaluate war damage, and also to promote exhibitions of Japanese art and living artists. Through Lee’s negotiations with the Japanese government, the collection of the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara was exhibited publicly in 1947 for the first time in history.

Sherman Lee, photograph by Yousaf Karsh.

Lee used the experience of working as a Monuments Man in Japan to further his career as well, “I took every opportunity to avail myself of the chance, and such knowledge as I now possess I owe to our Japanese representatives in the field.” In recognition of his service, the Japanese Government awarded Lee the Order of the North Star and the Order of the Sacred Treasure. He also received the Legion of Honor.

Visiting with Sherman Lee in 2006. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

Prior to his military service, Sherman received both his Bachelors and Masters of Arts from American University, and his Doctorate degree from Case Western University in 1941. He became Curator of Far Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1941. From 1948 until 1952 he taught at the University of Washington and also was Associate Director at the Seattle Art Museum. In 1952, Lee began his long career as Chief Curator of Oriental Art, Assistant Director, and Associate Director, becoming Director in 1958. As director, he greatly expanded all areas of the museum’s collection, and highlighted the role of educational programs, adding an education wing in 1971. Lee retired from the Cleveland Museum in 1983 and began teaching as an adjunct professor of art history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art was founded in his honor at the Clark Center near Fresno, California.

Click here to read his and other Monuments Men biographies on the Monuments Men Foundation website: http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/monumentsmen/

James N. Wood, long time director of the Art Institute of Chicago (1980-2004) and more recently President and CEO of the Getty Trust, died recently.  I met Jim Wood more than 3 years ago at the memorial service for one of his great mentors, Monuments Man S. Lane Faison, Jr, his college professor of art history at Williams College.  Jim was one of a group of prominent students who went on to lead some of our nation’s greatest museums including Rusty Powell (Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.), Jack Lane (former Director of the Dallas Museum of Art), and Kirk Varnadoe Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art.

I remember well the moving story Jim Wood told about Lane visiting the Art Institute for a tour of some of the great works and the dramatic moment that brought Lane to his feet when standing before a great work of art.  The esteem and affection this once student felt for his old teacher was still evident after all those years.  Everyone was brought to tears as the telling of this story came alive.

Jim Wood leaves a lengthy and worthy legacy of scholarship and contribution to the arts at these two and other institutions.  His connection to the Monuments Men was considerable as many of his peers once served the MFAA; others studied and worked for men and women who were Monuments officers.  These first line connections to this great part of our history are something to cherish while we still have them.  They underscore the urgency with which we continue to gather all aspects of the story of the Monuments Men.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Nightwatch (Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq), 1642. Oil on canvas, 3.6 x 4.4m (10 ft 10 in x 14ft 4 in).

On June 30, 1945, Rembrandt van Rijn’s masterpiece, Nightwatch (Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq), was formally unrolled at the Rijksmuseum after having been returned to Amsterdam by the Dutch canal system on a special boat.

Photo Courtesy of NARA.

The painting had spent the last six years in hiding, in no fewer than four different repositories. It traveled from Castricum, to Heemskerk, to St. Pietersberg, and finally to a specially constructed bombproof shelter at Paaslo.

Photo Courtesy of NARA.

After the painting was unrolled, it was reattached to its stretcher and carefully examined by Rijksmuseum officials, as seen in the photo above. From left to right: Professors Reuling and Wolter of the Committee of Amsterdam; Dr. C. Lindeman, a director of the Rijksmuseum; D.C. Roell, general director of the Rijksmuseum; and (second from right) the Dutch painter Ruter, also a member of the Committee of Amsterdam.

Lieutenant Charles Parkhurst, 1913-2008. Photo Courtesy of Charles Parkhurst Collection.

One of the greats, Charles Parkhurst, has died. He was 95 years of age.  Charles had an incredibly distinguished career as a museum director, curator, and art historian which spanned more than 50 years.  During those years he worked at the National Gallery of Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox AA Gallery in Buffalo, and the Princeton University Art Museum, among others.  He was also an outstanding educator of art with teaching positions at Oberlin College and Williams College.

But we will forever remember and honor Chuck for his service not just to our nation as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War ll, but his critically important work as a Monuments Officer.  Beginning in May 1945 Parkhurst served as the Deputy Chief of the Seventh Army MFAA section of the U.S. Military Government in Germany. He helped coordinate the numerous tasks of the Monuments Men in post-war Germany centered on restitutions of the hundreds of thousand of stolen works of art and other cultural belongings stolen by Hitler and the Nazis and located by the Monuments Men.

But Charles Parkhurst’s service was much greater. In addition to standing with his fellow Monuments Men on the principle that no works of art should be removed from Germany,  in the face of great controversy, he also played a key role in jump-starting cultural life in Germany after the war by creating exhibitions which allowed local citizens to see works of art even though German museums were closed due to damage during the war.

For his wartime efforts as a Monuments Officer, Charles was named a Chevalier, Legion of Honor by France.

Photo taken on my visit with Charles Parkhurst in 2006. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

Charles was so fortunate to have a magnificent lady and art scholar in her own right, for his wife, Carol, and a wonderful family.  It was one of the personal highlights of my work these past 7 years having the opportunity to meet Chuck and Carol two years ago at their charming home in Amherst.  Knowing he was ill, and of course the age of all the Monuments Men and women, underscored the sense of urgency to our effort to seek Senate and the House of Representatives support for our Resolution honoring the men and women of the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives section.

We will miss Charles Parkhurst, and all he stood for in the education, appreciation and protection of art and culture, enormously.  Our condolences go out to his family and numerous close friends.

At Winfield House, residence of the Ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom, with Anne Olivier Bell and Ambassador Robert H. Tuttle. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

Today is British Monuments Woman Anne Olivier Popham Bell’s 94^th Birthday. Anne is the only living female member of the Monuments section that we have located.  In December 2007, I had the honor of presenting Anne with a flag of the United States which was flown over the United States Capitol in her honor, as well as a gold leaf copy of the Congressional resolution that was passed on June 6, 2007 in recognition of the heroic efforts of the Monuments Men. U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert H. Tuttle and his wife were also in attendance, as well as Anne’s family. It was truly a moving and memorable day. You may read more about Anne in her biography below.

MFAA Officer Anne Popham Bell. Photo Courtesy of Anne Popham Bell.

Anne Olivier Popham Bell (b. 1916)

Civilian Officer Grade 2, British Element, Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA)

Anne Olivier Popham was well prepared for work with the MFAA.  From 1934 to 1937, she studied art history at the Courtauld Institute which, combined with her family’s background in art, made her an ideal candidate.  Her father, A.E. ‘Hugh’ Popham, was a distinguished authority on Italian drawings and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, whose collection was transferred for safety to Wales in advance of the German Blitzkrieg on London.  Popham’s ‘war work’ began in 1941 when she joined the Ministry of Information as a research assistant in the Photographs and Publications Divisions.  Popham’s focus centered around the production of informative booklets on the British war effort published by His Majesty’s Stationary Office.  In 1945 she was transferred to the MFAA Branch of the Control Commission for Germany, and in October was stationed at Bünde in Westphalia, the Divisional Headquarters where she coordinated the Branch officers’ work.  Popham’s diaries detail her daily activities during this time and are preserved at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Following her return home from Germany in 1947, Popham joined the Art Department of the Arts Council of Great Britain, where she engaged in the preparation of major exhibitions in London and the provinces, and edited their authoritative catalogues.  In 1952 she married Quentin Bell, who later became Professor of History and Theory of Art at both Leeds and Sussex Universities.  He was the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell (the artist), central figures in the ‘Bloomsbury Group’, of which Vanessa’s sister, Virginia Woolf, was a participant.  After raising three children, Popham worked with her husband on research for his 1972 biography of his aunt, Virginia Woolf, and thereafter undertook the editing of Woolf’s complete Diary (five volumes) for which Popham was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and given two Honorary Doctorates.

Anne Olivier Bell currently lives in Sussex close to Charleston, the Bell family home.  The Charleston Trust, of which she is senior Trustee, has overseen the restoration of the historic house, which is now open to the public.  She is the only known surviving British member of the MFAA, and is still actively associated with the Bloomsbury Group.

Metallica's Drummer Lars Ulrich and Diego Edsel. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel.

I’m outside Zurich with my son Diego getting ready to head to the stage to see his idols – Metallica – perform. The rain has stopped, skies cleared, and Diego has just met Lars before we all head over to the performing area for what I know will be an incredible evening. And yes, to all my friends who keep asking me, I gave Lars, James, Robert and Kirk an inscribed copy of The Monuments Men!”

Monuments Officer at the Munich Collecting Point (Craig Hugh Smyth second from the left). Photo Courtesy of NARA.

In June 1945, Monuments Man Craig Hugh Smyth was charged with opening and running the Munich Collecting Point, to be housed in the former Führerbau (Hitler’s offices) and Verwaltungsbau (Nazi Party Headquarters). Collecting Points were necessary to house and sort the hundreds of thousands of works of art being found by Monuments Men in repositories across Germany, and the Central Collecting Point in Munich was designated to primarily hold ERR loot, Hitler and Goering’s collections, and other works found in the Altaussee salt mine.

Munich Collecting Point before repairs were made in June 1945. Photo Courtesy of NARA.

Smyth was given less than two weeks to convert the severely damaged buildings into a suitable home for a world-class art collection. Explosives had to be removed, windows, roofs, and electric lines repaired, underground passages closed off, and a trustworthy and knowledgeable staff had to be assembled.  Monuments Man George Stout came to Munich to assist in outlining proper unloading and art handling procedures.

Exterior of the Munich Collecting Point. Photo Courtesy of NARA.

On June 17, 1945, the first load of artworks arrived in Munich from Altaussee. As each object was unloaded, it was assigned an arrival number and collecting point card, then was stored in the proper room. Eventually racks were built to safely hold all of the paintings, a library was created, and a photography studio established, all to assist with restitutions. In the six years that followed, the Monuments Men would restitute 5 million cultural items from the collecting points. Today the legacy of the Monuments Men who worked at the Munich Collecting Point lives on, as the MCP cards are still frequently used in provenance research and restitution cases.