Feb 7: Tracy Sugerman at Library of Congress

I don't know anything about his work, but Sara Duke is introducing him.

Public contact: Veterans History Project (202) 707-4916, vohp@loc.gov

WWII VETERAN AND ACCLAIMED ARTIST TRACY SUGARMAN
DISCUSSES MEMOIR, ILLUSTRATIONS AT LIBRARY ON FEB. 7
Award-winning author and illustrator Tracy Sugarman will give a visual presentation and discuss his new memoir, “Drawing Conclusions: An Artist Discovers His America,” at a special program at noon on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Dining Room A of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event, co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required.

"Mr. Sugarman’s writings, drawings and video-recorded interviews comprise a rich collection in both the Library’s Veterans History Project and the Prints and Photographs Division, and we are honored that he will be here to talk about his book, which is an important addition to the historical record he has already shared with the American people," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Sugarman, a WWII naval officer, is a freelance artist and illustrator who, in a long and varied career, has covered the civil-rights struggle in the South, labor strikes, NASA rollouts, VISTA's work with Appalachian coal-miner families, and rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey Dance Group. His work has garnered recognition from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Art Directors Club in Washington, D.C.

In 2000, Sugarman published “My War,” a reminiscence of his wartime experiences, which blended artwork, excerpts of letters home and memories of his days during wartime. Sugarman’s story was also included in “Voices of War,” a book published in 2004 by National Geographic and the Library, which features stories from the Veterans History Project collections. Sugarman’s wartime-era artwork is housed in the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division, and a watercolor from that collection is featured on the front of the VHP 2008 “Forever a Soldier” wall calendar.

Unequaled in their scope and richness, the collections in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division currently include about 14 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich fund of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government, political struggle and the recording of history. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/print/.

Wartime veterans are encouraged to come forward to record their experiences for the growing archive within the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Those interested can download a VHP Field Kit from the Veterans History Project Web site at www.loc.gov/vets/, request a kit via email at vohp@loc.gov or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848.