Photo By Staff Sgt. Felix Mena | Fort Bliss Garrison commander Col. Brendan Gallagher, 1st Armored Division Deputy...... read more read more
Subscribe
EL PASO, Texas – Members of the Fort Bliss Army Garrison and the El Paso community celebrated the restoration of Rudolph Charles von Ripper’s World War II era mural in building on the grounds of the El Paso Veteran Affairs Hospital on July 18.
Von Ripper joined the Army in 1942 and was stationed at the old William Beaumont General Hospital as a hospital laboratory technician, painted a mural in what was then the hospital library in 1943. In 1994, as the building aged, the mural was covered up with plastic and sealed behind a layer of drywall to preserve it as best as possible. It was subsequently forgotten until the Fort Bliss Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Historic Architecture Program rediscovered it in 2013 and fully removed the layer of drywall in 2015.
Once the protective plastic and drywall were removed, the preservation process began in earnest, with a team of experts painstakingly working to flatten and re-adhere pealing and curling sections of the mural back to the surface of the wall. Next came a detailed digital scanning process, which used a technique known as “structure-from-motion photogrammetry” to create a 3-D images of the mural that helped the preservationists determine exactly how the original mural had looked when it was completed in 1943.
“This [restoration] marks over a half century of contributions by so many people that includes librarians, architects, preservationists, art conservators, community members, all of whom believed that this was piece worth saving,” said Fort Bliss Garrison commander Col. Brendan Gallagher. Indeed, it took the active participation of Fort Bliss DPW, the City of El Paso, and even the efforts of Rep. Veronica Escobar all working together to return von Ripper’s art to its former glory.
As fantastic as the story of the restoration of the mural is, it pales in comparison to von Ripper’s life. During the ceremony, the former 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss Museum Director Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Hamilton recounted how von Ripper was born in 1905 in Austria to a noble family, grew up in Europe, and studied art at the Dusseldorf Academy. Von Ripper’s studies of art, and later film, took him to Asia and then back to Europe in 1930s. In repose to the rise of fascism in Europe, von Ripper published a series of political cartoons that caused the Nazi regime to detain and tortured him until the Austrian government precured his release. After which, von Ripper moved to Spain, fought on the side of the Republican Forces in the Spanish Civil war, was smuggled out of Europe to New York and Connecticut where he established himself in the local art scene. He became and naturalized U.S. Citizen in 1938.
Von Ripper would go on to serve honorably in the U.S. Army during World War II in many unique capacities. Being a native German speaker, he was recruited to the Office of Special Services (the precursor to the CIA); and, being an artist, he also served with the U.S. Army Engineer’s War Art Unit. Coincidentally, his efforts in the Italian Campaign put him both along aside and eventually in front of the 1st Armored Division’s advance to Rome.
Von Ripper’s time in El Paso, when he painted the mural, seems to have been formative for his perspective on America.
“What is great about this art and the view that he had of America is that a lot of it was shaped by his experience in El Paso,” said Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks, the 1st Armored Division Deputy Commanding General for Operations. “And it still resonates today in that experience of community and the military.” Brig. Gen. Crooks went on to note how von Ripper’s art reflects the dual aspects of community and military in the way his art depicted the peaceful El Paso scenery but also “didn’t maintain the artist’s distance [from war]” when the time came.
In the end, restoring von Ripper’s mural and revisiting the story of his life and service “helps us reflect and celebrate our patriotism, honor our past, and facilitate cross generational connection,” said Col. Gallagher. Given the complex process and the many different entities that it took to restore von Ripper’s mural, this ribbon also cutting also represents the deep bond and partnership between Fort Bliss and the El Paso community.
For more information contact the 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office at 915-744-8406 or usarmy.bliss.1-ad.mbx.1ad-public-affairs@army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2025 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 543490 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, WWII US Army Soldier and Surrealist Painter Mural Rediscovered and Restored, by MAJ William McGehee, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
