July 04, 2005

Veteran's image haunts patriotic painter

'This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom.'
-- President George W. Bush, June 28th, Fort Bragg, N.C.
By Michael Scully
For the Times Herald-Record
Warwick On an easel inside Robert Fletcher's studio sits a work in progress, a portrait of a man he
remembers only as "Sgt. Leach," a nearly forgotten veteran of World War I.
The image is stark and distant and the work is only half done. In it, Sgt. Leach sits upright, leaning against
a building. His khaki Army uniform appears nearly pristine, but his face is pinched and streaked with ashen
gray and blue-gray watercolor brush strokes. Before him is an empty tin cup. And in the foreground is a little
boy about 7 staring at him.
"He used to just sit there ramrod straight right there in the middle of the city," Fletcher said. "I remember
his face was kind of bluish and pockmarked like those marks you get after smallpox and I asked my
mother what happened to this man and she said, 'He was gassed.' "
Nearly seven decades later, that encounter in Paterson, N.J., continues to haunt the Warwick painter so
much that he's taken brush in hand to capture the image. After nearly a year of work, Fletcher has finished
only portions of Leach's face and uniform and the clothes on the little boy.
Today, at 73, Fletcher continues to dedicate his life to painting. His work includes Hudson Valley
landscapes and "scenes of Americana" but his real passion is for images featuring military traditions.
"His work does great justice towards honoring our veterans and their sacrifices," said former Rep. Ben
Gilman, who owns at least two of Fletcher's paintings. "He's got the Rockwell touch."
In fact, like Norman Rockwell, Fletcher is an American realist who likes to work in watercolors and pencil.
His work is honest and sober and reminiscent of works by other American realists, like Edward Hopper,
Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth.
These days, his workspace is inside a renovated barn. His studio is on the second floor with a northern
exposure that overlooks a large, moss-green pond.
He keeps his easel perpendicular to the windows to catch the light. He uses a Russell Stover candy box to
keep a collection of 20 or so sable brushes organized, and he arranges his watercolors by pigment inside
the 12 cups of an aluminum muffin pan.
Beyond that, the space is simple but cluttered: There are etchings and photographs of pending projects.
There's a loosely folded 48-star American flag stationed upon an antique filing cabinet. Nearby, a tailored
World War II Marine uniform awaits attention behind the studio door.
And then there is his work.
Like the portrait of Sgt. Leach, the focus is more on the enlisted man and less on famous American
officers such as Washington, Lee or Patton.
"My work focuses more on the average guy the sons of farmers and so on."
His body of work covers all the American conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the present, and he
draws inspiration from events and people both near and far. Often, his faces are those of friends, neighbors
and local veterans.
One portrait features Warwick veteran Sgt. Robert P. Stewart Sr., his six sons and one grandson, all in
military uniforms. Six of the men are in Army uniforms; the others are Marines.
"That's three generations in the military," said Ralph "Chip" Stewart, one of the sons. "That's over 140
years of military service in my family."
These are just some of the 63 paintings and illustrations included in a book Fletcher co-authored with his
son, Robert B. Fletcher, entitled "Remembrance: A Tribute to America's Veterans."
And his work continues. He's painting a landscape of a friend's farm. And then there's the unfinished

portrait of Sgt. Leach.

It's not clear who Leach was. Fletcher said Leach served in the U.S. Army during World War I, and it was
there that a mustard gas attack scarred his face and blinded him. Fletcher remembers him as the lost
veteran sitting and waiting for handouts.
"I don't know what I'm going to do about that (painting) yet," Fletcher said. "But I can't forget him."

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