EXHIBITS & COLLECTIONS

Private Charles J. Miller: WWII Paintings from the South Pacific

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History hosted Private Charles J. Miller: WWII Paintings from the South Pacific, a special exhibit organized by the Wright Museum of World War II, from July 2 through October 30, 2022. Charles J. Miller, a self-taught draftsman and painter, was a WWII soldier who created paintings of the South Pacific that depicted everyday experiences of servicemen who fought in that WWII theater.

Private Miller fought in the Pacific Theater during WWII and captured his deployment in over 700 paintings, and of these, 120 paintings are included in this special exhibition. During this time, he drew on whatever he had available, from large sheets of paper to the insides of cigarette cartons, all using children’s watercolor sets. Alongside these works of art that capture dramatic action and keen observation, reside interpretive text panels that contain transcriptions of the narratives Private Miller wrote on the front and/or back of his paintings. The transcriptions preserve Miller’s spelling, sentence structure and punctuation so viewers can gain a flavor of his writing style.