The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 9, 2026

A vertically oriented black-and-white print depicts a seated person, bent over their knees, head in their hands. Only the top of their head, hair cut short, is visible. They wear loose clothing and boots, their body appearing long and disproportionately large, especially their right hand, compared to their head. Fine lines shade in details, including what appears to be wood plank flooring. Light shines in, illuminating the person, from our right.

War Fatigue

1946

William E. Smith

(American, 1913–1997)
America
linocut
Image: 30.5 x 25.4 cm (12 x 10 in.); Sheet: 34.6 x 32.1 cm (13 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2024.33
© William E. Smith
Catalogue raisonné: Teller 19
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In William E. Smith’s words, this print depicted “how it feels when you can march no longer and drop to rest by the wayside.”

Description

William E. Smith relocated to Cleveland from Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the Great Migration and soon became closely associated with Karamu House, a cultural center established in 1915 and still active today. There, Smith joined a group of artists who experimented with linocut, the technique used to make this print. It was created shortly after the artist returned from service in World War II and was meant to serve as a meditation on his experiences in combat.
  • Salsbury, Britany, and Erin E. Benay. Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Reproduced: p. 53, no. 23
  • Karamu Artists Inc.: Printmaking, Race, and Community. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-August 17, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=War Fatigue|url=false|author=William E. Smith|year=1946|access-date=09 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.33