GEORGE MATTHEWS HARDING (1882-1959) American AEF war artist and muralist who served in both World Wars. A superb World War II watercolor and pencil abstract painting measuring 12.5 x 8 in. (sight), presented within the original white mat and painted frame measuring 21.5 x 16.5 in. The colorful, evocative image is titled ‘Dead Japs’, and pictures two dead Japanese soldiers in a foxhole, one clutching a holstered pistol, the barrels of their silenced machine gun pointed skywards. A period typed card framed with a photo reads: ‘Bougainville...Japs kills by low-flying marine fighters on Guam strafing in support of advancing marine infantry’. This painting was exhibited in the New York Metropolitan Museum’s 1945 exhibit ‘The War Against Japan’, and bears the original cataloguing label on the verso reading: ‘4002.85 The Metropolitan Museum of Art LOAN EXHIBITION War Against Japan’. This exhibit was initiated by the Treasury Department as a stimulus to buy war bonds and showcased the artworks of 17 painters who had been sent to document the war in the Pacific Theater. Official literature about the exhibition stated that it was designed to ‘…add a poignant note to our understanding of what the war against Japan means to our men…’. In very good, original condition, not removed from the frame which displays some damage and wear.