Work Text:
Art work for the Marvel Bang based on Pugglemuggle's fic (Link coming very soon).
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]
1. “Family Portrait” - 1924
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1924 (estimated)
Medium: Crayon on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 3 1/3 in x 4 1/8 in
Credit Line: Gift of Rebecca T. Barnes, via her son, Jay P. Simon
Discription:
This drawing is the earliest recovered original work produced by Steve Rogers. The piece is believed to depict himself in between his mother, Sarah Rogers, and his childhood friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes. At this time, Steve Rogers would have been six years old. The drawing was among the collection saved by Rebecca Barnes, James’s older sister, which was later donated to the museum by Rebecca’s son.
2. “Portraits: Bucky Barnes” – 1930
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1928-1932
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 7 3/4 in x 6 in, 12 3/4 x 8 1/2
Description:
This portrait, drawn when Rogers was ten is the earliest authentic portrait recovered to date. Although still uncertain, most historians agree that the subject of this portrait is Steve Roger’s childhood friend, James “Bucky” Barnes. The drawing is among those saved by Rebecca Barnes, James’s older sister, which was later donated to the museum by Rebecca’s son.
3. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes” – 1933
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1933
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 6 1/8 in x 4 7/8 in
Description:
This is the fifth piece recovered from the collection of Rebecca Barnes. Like the first portrait in the collection (See “Portrait: Bucky Barnes” – 1930), it depicts Captain Roger’s childhood friend, James “Bucky” Barnes. When this piece was drawn, Steve Rogers would have been about 15 years old, while Barnes would have been 16. It was donated to the museum by Rebecca Barnes in 1987.
4. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes at Shipyard” – 1934
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1934
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
This piece depicts Rogers’ friend, James Barnes, as a dock worker at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was one of the first of Rogers’ works to be obtained by the museum. Shortly after Rogers’ demise in 1945, his former landlady, unable to find any remaining kin, donated his possessions to the American Historical Society, who later distributed the items to museums across the country. Although a few of his possessions have been reclaimed by some of Rogers’ close friends, the majority remain in the hands of the public.
6. “Funeral Procession” – 1937
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1937
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
This drawing was done shortly after the death of Rogers’ mother, Sarah Rogers. Sarah was a nurse who died of tuberculosis in 1937, leaving her 19-year-old son orphaned. This sketch was one of the pieces donated to the museum after the death of Rebecca Barnes.
7. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes in Brooklyn Apartment” – 1939
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1939
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
his piece was among those recovered by Rogers’ landlady. In depicts James “Bucky” Barnes in the apartment he and Rogers shared following Sarah Rogers’ death. Rogers was 21 at the time.
8. “Brooklyn Cityscape 6” – 1942
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1942
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
Any native Brooklynite would recognize this scene as the view of the city from the Brooklyn Bridge. This piece is one in a series of 13 pieces depicting various locations in Brooklyn. However, unlike the other works in its collection, this drawing was found among the personal possessions of Bucky Barnes that were sent back to his family after his death in 1945. Although the figure in the foreground is facing away from the viewer, some historians believe him to be Barnes himself. The note on the back of the piece certainly supports this theory: “Wish you were here, wish I was there.”
9. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes in Army Barracks” – 1943
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1943
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
This piece was drawn shortly after Steve Rogers was finally accepted into the army. Historians believe it depicts the inside of the barracks in Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, where Rogers trained before being selected for Project Rebirth. It was found among the possessions that Rogers left behind at the camp before beginning his USO tour. Presumably, he intended to retrieve them after his tour had finished, but fate had other plans. The items were donated to the museum following Rogers’ death.
11. “Sketchbook Pages (Various)” – 1943
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1943
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
These two pages, also among those collected from Rogers’ sketchbook, were likely drawn during Captain Rogers’ tour with the USO in Italy. One of the largest illustrations is a map of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, including a note referencing a city they had just left. The other page shows a monkey wearing Captain America’s uniform performing on a tightrope. On the back of this page, Rogers has drawn a portrait of his friend, Bucky Barnes. Many art historians claim this portrait to be an experiment in style, since the techniques Rogers employs here differ greatly from most of his other works.
12. “Portrait: Howling Commandos 3” – 1943
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1943
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
This portrait was likely drawn on Christmas Eve, more than a month after Rogers returned from rescuing the 107th infantry division in November of 1943. Rogers was at the Allied Forces Headquarters at the time in Caserta, Italy. This piece features the Caserta base mess hall with all six members of the original Howling Commandos: James “Bucky” Barnes, Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, Jacques Dernier, and James Montgomery Falsworth. It was
15. “Portrait: Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes” – 1944
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1944
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
Another drawing retrieved from Steve Rogers’ sketchbook, this piece depicts Rogers’ best friend, Bucky Barnes, and Rogers’ romantic partner, Peggy Carter, walking together in one of the Ally camps.
16. “Portrait: Howling Commandos 8” – 1945
Artist: Steven G. Rogers
Date: 1945
Medium: Pencil on Paper
Dimensions (H x W): 10 7/16 in x 8 in
Description:
This is perhaps the last piece Steve Rogers drew before perishing in the Arctic. It is the last page in Rogers’ sketchbook to be used—all subsequent pages are blank. It depicts all six of the Howling Commandos around a campfire, perhaps somewhere in the Alps before the fateful mission which resulted in Barnes’ death.
EPILOGUE:
[ ...Reporter Ben Urich spoke with a survivor of the attack yesterday evening. “Captain America saved my life,” said Elizabeth Roswell. “Wherever he is and wherever any of them are... I would wanna say thank you.”]