The artwork entitled “Off to War,” created by William H. Johnson in 1942, is a notable piece within the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement and exemplifies the genre of genre painting.
The artwork depicts a poignant scene featuring a soldier in uniform, likely saying farewell to his family as he embarks on his journey to war. The setting appears to be rural, illustrated through the simple, colorful shapes of a wooden house, utility poles, and abstracted landscape in the background. The figures, rendered in a stylized and rudimentary manner characteristic of Naïve Art, convey a sense of communal support and an emotional goodbye, with family members raising their arms as if in a wave. The use of bold colors and simplified forms captures the raw emotion and historic context of the era, encapsulating the gravity of wartime farewells within a visually accessible and compelling framework.
