Title |
Pastel Drawing on Denim of Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Camp |
Date Original |
circa 1940s |
Creator |
Okayama, Masao |
Biographical/Historical Note |
After December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the War Relocation Authority (WRA), which selected ten sites in which to imprison more than 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, over half of whom were American citizens. Two of these camps were in the Arkansas Delta, one at Rohwer in Desha County, and the other at Jerome in sections of Chicot and Drew counties. Over 16,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated in these two camps between October 1942 and November 1945. Masao Okayama was one of these individuals, most likely a student at Rohwer. Students used donated denim and pastels in their art classes at Rohwer. This is one of two pastel drawings held by the Arkansas State Archives. This piece comes from the Joseph Boone Hunter Collection. Joseph Boone Hunter worked at Rohwer Relocation Camp, where he was in charge of the school, hospital, and social welfare, as well as his own church service. |
Description |
This image shows a pastel drawing on denim of Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Camp, signed by Masao Okayama, who was probably a student at the camp. |
Physical Description |
Pastel drawing on denim, 55 7/8” x 17 7/8” |
Subjects |
Drawing; Pastels (Visual works); War; Art education; Art; Evacuations; Military camps; Camps; Japanese; Japanese Americans; World War II (1939-1945); Internment camps; Relocation camps; |
Related Resources |
Hazel Retherford papers, MS.000643; Amon Guy Thompson papers, MG04582 - MG04586; Austin Smith papers, 1942–1945, MG04350; Beauty Behind Barbed Wire: The Arts of the Japanese in Our War Relocation Camps, MG01299; Community Analysis Reports and Community Analysis Trend Reports of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946, MG03846 - MG03847; Japanese Camp papers, MG03848 - MG03869 |
Geographical Area |
Rohwer, Desha County. (Ark.) |
Language |
English |
Local Identifier |
Joseph Boone Hunter Collection, MS.000119, Museum 82.002.1. |
Digital Resource |
Artifact |
Digital Collection |
You Fought Prejudice and Won - Japanese-American Internment Camps in Arkansas |
Publisher |
Arkansas State Archives |
Preferred Citation |
Rohwer Pastel Drawing on Denim, Joseph Boone Hunter Collection, MS.000119, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas. |
Rights and Usage |
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov. |