"Waiting at the Station", Joseph L. Van Sickle (1915 - 1985)

Highly atmospheric and winning, this American Scene painting of three young men waiting for the next train in downtown Indianapolis -- perhaps new conscripts heading to war -- was painted by Joseph Van Sickle in 1943, when World War II was at its peak. The painting focuses on the angelic countenance of the central figure, who is listening to his buddy commenting on what he has read in the newspaper on his lap, but seems to be lost in thought, his mind very far away. The figure to the right is draining a bottle of milk and finishing his lunch. This painting is a very fine example of "social realism," its scene full of 1940s detail such as the two posters on the wall behind the figures advertising "high speed" train travel and promoting "Victory" in the war. All three figures are dressed in a dapper way, with sport jackets, ties and v-neck sweaters, and all three wear buttons of some kind, which may relate to their service in the war, or a meeting they are attending. This work was painted by Van Sickle the year he graduated from the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis; later, he served as the director of fine art at the Watkins Institute in Nashville. The painting is oil on canvas, and is dated in the lower righthand corner. The signature is on the reverse, obscured by a protective panel added to the back of the frame. (Dimensions include the frame.)