The Homecoming of 1918

Emaciated and disfigured men, women, and children confront us in a wall of misery. The raw violence of this painting is disturbing, but it still fails to capture the human cost of World War I. Soldiers experienced the new horrors of mustard gas and shell bombardment while civilians faced widespread famine and disease. The war radicalized many artists, including Carl Hoeckner, who had immigrated from Munich to Chicago in 1910. He abandoned his stylish subjects to make art that raised awareness of human suffering and social inequity.