by Joshua Enrile
A recent collaboration between Pensacola State College and Dr. Patrick Rowe, an art professor at PSC, and the Pensacola Museum of Art has yielded their recent exhibit, The Design of War: World War I and World War II posters and flags.
“What we owe the veterans is something that can’t be measured. This show was a tribute to all veterans, not just World War I and II veterans but to recent ones, those who would give up their lives to serve and protect our great country,” Rowe said.
This collection, donated from Rowe’s personal collection, consists of 140 different pieces ranging from flags to a variety of posters, such as the iconic raising of the flag on Iwo Jima to the obscure early twentieth century piece by Fredrick Strothmann titled “Beat back the HUN with LIBERTY BONDS.”
“One of the best things is the pieces are donated by Dr. Rowe someone local, it just shows the richness of our community, it encourages people to support not only our museums, but our veterans, our education and most importantly our community,” said Betty Roberts, president of the board of trustees at PMA.
The posters have consistent themes of unity, victory and freedom.
“This exhibit is a great way to expose Pensacolians and veterans alike not just to the financial issues that plague our recent veterans, but also to the growing artistic culture that is taking root within Pensacola’s downtown,” Roberts said.
One purpose of the exhibit is to fund a scholarship for veterans.
“The initial project began two years ago with the help of Scott Fowler and James “Nick” Vasser. It was started to help fund the Dr. Patrick M. Rowe Scholarship, a scholarship aimed toward the helping underfunded veterans who are pursuing a degree in the arts,” Rowe said.
According to Fowler and Vasser, both veterans, “The Veterans Endowment only covers one year’s worth of college and seeing as an associate’s degree can only be applied for entry level positions, it effectively strands veterans in a collegiate purgatory, not able to move forward without financial aid and wasting their time and money for one year’s worth of classes.”
The Dr. Patrick M. Rowe Scholarship is funded thanks to the partnership with the Pensacola Museum of Art, which will hold the exhibit from November 1 through January 3.
At the end of the exhibit, all donations will go toward the scholarship. To further help with the scholarship, the museum had an anonymous silent auction for one of the pieces, and the winner was none other than Rowe’s niece, Emily Rowe.
PMA gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free for veterans, members and children under 5, adults $5 and students $3.
For information and tour booking call 850-432-6247
For more information about the Dr. Patrick M. Rowe Scholarship call 850-484-2550.
