Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony

The long-awaited ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the Ghost Army veterans, the secret WWII units that used creative deception to fool the enemy, will take place at the U.S. Capitol on March 21, 2024.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will host the special event, along with House and Senate leaders and sponsors of the legislation passed in 2022 authorizing the award. The Gold Medal is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements by individuals or institutions.

There are only seven surviving members of the Ghost Army, now aged 100. Three are expected to attend the ceremony, along with the families of many other Ghost Army veterans. Jim Steg’s widow, Frances Swigart-Steg, will travel to Washington D.C. for the ceremony. Jim, who would have been 101, will be with us in spirit.

Jim Steg Featured in Times-Picayune

New Orleans Times Picayune, Sunday, February 25, 2024

Doug MacCash wrote about Jim Steg and the Ghost Army for a recent Times-Picayune article entitled “This WWII Ghost Army soldier tricked the Nazis. Now, the New Orleans professor will be honored.”

Featured as the headline article for the Living section on Feb. 25, it’s a great read with ample illustrations.

You can access it online here.

Gold Medal Update

The Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal formal presentation ceremony will take place at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The Ghost Army Legacy Project is preparing to organize festivities around the ceremony. We do not yet have a definite date for the event. They’ve requested that the ceremony be held the week before Veterans Day (November 2023), though the actual date will be chosen by the Speaker of the House.

We will let you know as soon as the date is set! 

We remain ever grateful for the work of historian Rick Beyer and The Ghost Army Legacy Project. They have added a searchable database of Ghost Army soldiers, featuring bios and images when available, to their website. You can read Jim Steg’s page here. 

Ghost Army Exhibit at Nevada Museum of Art

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II  is on view in Reno, Nevada through July 23, 2023. Produced by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, this exhibition brings together archival photography, historical artifacts, uniforms, sketches, and life-sized recreations of inflatable military equipment used during combat. The museum will offer free admission to active military members, their families, and veterans.

Jim Steg Featured on Analog Forever

Analog Forever, a publisher of contemporary analog photography, has a new feature highlighting Jim’s Polaroid work.  The article “Jim Steg’s Inspired Journey” includes an insightful essay by Barbara Hitchcock, Curator Emeritus of The Polaroid Collection.

“Whether the images that Jim Steg created are relatively straight forward or highly manipulated, they were innovative, unique and exceedingly personal. His artistic journey was one of constant inquiry and exploration. His creative spirit turned on its head Edwin Land’s belief in the absolute perfection of SX-70 film. To our delight, Jim Steg proved that each SX-70 photograph could actually be a starting point that inspires experimentation, that spurs invention and that reveals images previously conjured only within the mind’s eye.”

Enjoy the article & images here.

Jim Steg: Polaroids

Jim Steg: Polaroids presents a selection of Jim’s late-career instant photography explorations.

The exhibition, co-curated by Russell Lord and Jennifer Shaw, will be on view at UNO St. Claude Gallery from Dec 10, 2022 through Jan 8, 2023, in conjunction with the PhotoNOLA Festival.

 In the late ‘80s and ‘90s Jim took pictures with an SX-70, often from the television screen, then deftly altered them. They’re manipulated both by surface pressure to affect the internal chemical development, and external processes including cutting, drawing, painting, and collage. The work exudes a raw, punkish energy, interspersed with moments of tenderness.  The collection frequently references art history, reflecting themes that Steg explored throughout his career.

An opening reception will be held on Saturday, December 10, from 6-9 pm.

Gallery hours are 12pm – 5pm Saturday and Sunday, and by appointment. (Closed Dec 24 + 25)

 Read more here.

The Orleans Gallery: 65 Years Later

Jim Steg – Becoming, 1959, woodcut

Amanda Winstead Fine Art is pleased to announce the forthcoming exhibition "The Orleans Gallery: 65 Years Later."  Presenting the work of eight of the artists of this groundbreaking artist cooperative, which opened at 527 Royal Street in 1956, this exhibition will focus on some of the unsung artists of the Orleans Gallery.  Included will be over 30 works by Franklin Adams, Katherine Choy, Marilyn Conrad, Lin Emery, Shearly Grode, Robert Helmer, Jim Steg, and Mildred Wohl.

The exhibition opens at 400 Julia St., New Orleans, LA from 6-8 pm on Saturday, December 3rd.   

The Orleans Gallery was founded in 1956 by a small group of New Orleans artists. A non-profit, community-oriented gallery, its objective was to foster contemporary art in New Orleans and to make other cities aware of New Orleans as a creative art and cultural center. The gallery displayed and sold the works of its permanent exhibiting artists. It also exhibited the works of guest artists, student artists, and artists of national and international renown, until its closing in 1972.

Jim Steg: Abstractions

New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts presents a printmaking exhibition in celebration of their newly launched printmaking program. The exhibition compiles the work of famed artist Jim Steg - with a concentration on his abstract studies - juxtaposed with the work of several New Orleans contemporary printmakers who are each exploring their own vision through one of the oldest mediums of production. 

Printmaking in NOLA features Wayne Amadee, Tish Douzart, Jono Goodman, Ken Nahan, Sarah Nelson, Frances Swigart, and Meg Turner, with an entire gallery dedicated to the abstract studies of Jim Steg. Curated by NOAFA Director Andrew J. Rodgers, the exhibition serves as an exploration of and introduction to the medium of printmaking at the Academy.

Jim Steg: Abstractions features prints created by Steg in the 1970’s. The works display a range of printmaking techniques from soft ground and photo resist etchings to marbling, monoprints, multi-plate prints, and even hand-sewing. Many of the images evoke astral planes, and the orb is a recurring presence in his works of that era. In Jim’s own words: 

“The printmaker… has a basic empathy for surface and texture. His reaction and interaction with the materials is perhaps more visceral than cerebral, often resulting in a sensual vitality. The hand-made, hand-pulled print is a defiance of the machine – an anachronism with the aura of intimacy.”

Opening reception: 
Saturday, September 17, 5-7pm
On view through Oct 1 

Gallery hours:
Mon - Sat 10am-4pm
Tue - Thur 6-9pm

The Academy Gallery
New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts
5256 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115

ART + COFFEE: Jim Steg & The Ghost Army

Partners in Print - Closing Reception
Saturday, March 5, 12-2pm

Please join us for a SPECIAL TALK on the life of artist JIM STEG, his artwork, his professorship at Tulane, and his service in the WWII Ghost Army.

Frances Swigart Steg will share slides of Jim’s early works, created while he served as a member of the top-secret Ghost Army during WWII, along with images made later in his career that reflect upon his war experiences. Debra Howell  will share a selection of prints that she produced during graduate school at Tulane University and speak about Jim’s influences on both process and subject matter.

Please join us for coffee and conversation! This will be the LAST DAY for the gallery exhibition Partners in Print: Frances Swigart and Jim Steg. The event is free and open to the public, at Studio Waveland & Gallery  on Saturday, March 5 from 12-2pm.

Celebrating Jim Steg's Centennial Year

2022 marks the centennial of Jim Steg's birth on February 6, 1922 in Alexandria, Virginia. We're planning events throughout the year to celebrate his work and legacy. Festivities begin at Studio Waveland + Gallery in February, and conclude with an exhibition of Jim’s late-career Polaroids during PhotoNOLA in December. Additional events will be announced as details solidify. Partners in Print will open on Friday, February 11, with birthday cake in Jim’s honor. Please join us to celebrate the life and lasting impact of New Orleans’ most influential printmaker.

Jim Steg - Bacchanalian Group, after Mantegna, 1948

For fun and inspiration, we invite you to follow Jim’s new Instagram account: @jim.steg

Congressional Gold Medal!

It’s official! On February 1st, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law that awards the Congressional Gold Medal to the soldiers of WWII's secret Ghost Army unit. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest distinction Congress can bestow, signifying national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions.

Our sincere gratitude goes to historian Rick Beyer and the Ghost Army Legacy Project for their seven year campaign to honor the soldiers of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133 Signal Company Special. The unit, comprised of artists, used costumes, decoys, phony radio transmissions, and other forms of deception to outfox the enemy. The existence of the Ghost Army was top secret for more than 50 years until the information was declassified in 1996.

Jim Steg - Job (Ghost Army Tank), 1992

You can learn more about Jim’s service in the Ghost Army here, and view a selection of watercolors and sketches he created during the second World War. It is evident that the experience had a lasting impact on both his life and his art.

Upcoming Exhibition →

Partners in Print: Frances Swigart and Jim Steg

Opening reception
Friday, February 11, 2022, 5-8pm

Studio Waveland + Gallery is pleased to present a two-person exhibition celebrating the artistic and life collaboration of Frances Swigart Steg and the late James L. Steg. The exhibition will feature etchings and relief prints by the two master printers.

Frances and Jim met in 1962, as teacher and student, and married in 1992 as empty nesters who were able to fully dedicate themselves to art making. They embraced the same medium – etching – but explored divergent imagery. His: experimental, challenging. Hers: in the French Impressionists' tradition, classical.

2022 marks the centennial of Mr. Steg's birth, on February 6, 1922, as well as Frances’s 80th trip around the sun. This joint exhibition, after years of collaboration, will include a career-spanning selection of works on paper by each artist. Please join us to celebrate the prolific creative legacy of Frances Swigart and Jim Steg, partners in life and in art.

Artist Talk with Frances Swigart
Saturday, February 12, 12:30pm

Closing Reception
Saturday, March 5

On view February 11 - March 5, 2022

Studio Waveland + Gallery
228 Coleman Ave
Waveland, MS 39576
Open Saturdays 12-4, and by appt

Studio Waveland + Gallery hosts exhibitions, artist’s lectures, art demonstrations, classes, and the metal & glass studios of sculptors Erica Larkin Gaudet & Mitchell Gaudet. The 2000 square foot gallery is located on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, building upon the location’s long history as a vacation spot and artist retreat. Studio Waveland opened in 2018 and has hosted major art events over the past three years, drawing people from across the region.

Senate Passes Gold Medal Bill for Ghost Army

We were so pleased to learn that last night, the United States Senate passed S.1404, the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act. Because their mission was kept secret for so long, the men who served in the Ghost Army did not receive proper recognition for their contributions to the Allied Powers during WWII — until now.

Due to language changes made by the Senate, the bill has to be sent back to the House of Representatives one more time, where it is expected to pass in early 2022 before arriving at the President’s desk.

This award would not be possible without the effort of the Ghost Army Legacy Project who tirelessly lobbied for the passage of this bill.

A well-deserved honor for all who served in the Ghost Army, and a perfect gift for our beloved Jim Steg’s 100th birthday.

Ghost Army Soldier Memorialized in New York Times

The New York Times recently published an article on the passing of Gilbert Seltzer; at the time of his death, Gilbert was the oldest surviving member of the Ghost Army. The insightful article goes into detail not only about Gilbert’s life and accomplishments, but also the oft-overlooked history of the Ghost Army.

Read the article: Richard Sandomir, The New York Times, Sept. 11, 2021

In an image from the 2013 PBS documentary “Ghost Army,” a soldier stands next to an inflatable rubber Sherman tank. It took about 30 minutes to inflate a single tank.

In an image from the 2013 PBS documentary “Ghost Army,” a soldier stands next to an inflatable rubber Sherman tank. It took about 30 minutes to inflate a single tank.

Wonderful Night at the National WWII Museum for Ghost Army Exhibition Opening

Our sincerest thanks to everyone who came out to the opening of the Ghost Army exhibition! The turnout was inspiring: hundreds of people, including several Ghost Army veterans and their families, were there to hear the lectures by author and Ghost Army Legacy Project President Rick Beyer and Museum Curator James Linn. We were honored that five of Jim Steg’s watercolor illustrations, made during his time with the Ghost Army, were included in the exhibition. And finally, a big round of applause for The National WWII Museum for putting this show together, so that the bravery and ingenuity of the soldiers of the Ghost Army can live on! 

To learn more about the exhibition, please click here.

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Jim Steg Images On View with the Ghost Army Exhibit at the National WWII Museum

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II 
On view March 5 - January 3, 2021

Opening Reception: March 5, 5-8pm (WWII Museum Curator James Linn and Ghost Army Legacy Project President Rick Beyer will give a curator talk. Free and open to the public, but please register to attend: Register here.)

National World War II Museum (US Freedom Pavilion)
945 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70130

The National WWII Museum’s groundbreaking new exhibit, Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II, explores the story of the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the “Ghost Army,” who elevated battlefield deception to an art form during World War II in order to fool Adolf Hitler’s forces. Artworks and ephemera from the Jim Steg Ghost Army Collection are included in the exhibit.

Click here for more information

New Selection of Jim Steg Work to Join the Smithsonian

We are thrilled to announce that the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in Washington, DC has acquired a group of Jim Steg’s reference material. The selection includes Steg’s curriculums and teaching materials gathered over his 42 year teaching career, a series of original sketches, and various correspondence and documentation collected by the artist during his lifetime. This material will join two artworks by Steg already in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum along with countless other treasures in the Smithsonian collection.