Home

The Show

The Artists

The Museum & Foundation

Reproduction Available - Click Here

Taxi Boss James Butcher Acquisition Number: 2012.1030.89 Medium: Acrylic The Marine Corps flew the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom interceptor/fighter-bomber extensively during the Vietnam War and into the early 1990s. It also served a reconnaissance role, providing intel to troops on the ground during the Gulf War in 1991. Flying at speeds up to Mach 2.2, it was known to be rugged, loud, and effective. Corporal Butcher’s painting depicts a taxi boss directing an F-4 with its canopy raised as it transits from one airfield location to another. Contrasting the camera with an artist’s canvas, combat artist Jim Butcher wrote: “A photograph is a slice of time, an instant. I think art can span time with an impression of an idea rather than a slice of time.”