French Soldier (The Blue Devil)

This painting features a soldier from France’s Chasseurs alpins, an elite military unit trained to fight in mountainous terrain and nicknamed the Blue Devils for their skill and blue uniforms. In the fervor that pervaded New York City following the United States’ monumental decision to enter the First World War, the Blue Devils marched through American cities to raise money for the war effort.

It’s possible that Wallace witnessed the Blue Devils’ tour through New York in 1918, when, according to local newspapers, people gathered in a three-mile-long throng to see their signature blue berets and scream, “Vive la France!” In one undated letter, she sheds light on the tone of that turbulent era when she writes, “Art is not produced without fierce patriotism.”