By Ben Johnson

 

With his paints in one hand and a rifle in the other, Col. John Drake Pusey lived life on the vanguard both literally and artistically. Smiling from behind a tidy mustache, his jacket heavy with military insignia, he hardly looked the part of an accomplished artist, but for Pusey art and war were simply two aspects of one grand adventure.

 

When asked to explain his successes as both an artist and an army officer, Pusey said, “Most painters are adventurers, and war provides the greatest excitement possible for the adventurous spirit these days.” 

 

Here is the story of his adventures in art and war.

 

Pusey was born in Council Bluffs, where Pusey was a household name. Since pioneer times, the Pusey’s were bankers, senators and entrepreneurs who, in the words of an1891 biographical history, were “universally admired and respected for their sterling worth.” 

 

The Pusey’s were an ambitious and industrious lot. In his yearbook, Pusey’s younger brother Nathan declared that he would be president of the United States in 1968. In 1953, he decided to settle for president of Harvard.

 

But as the class president and the class clown, the older Pusey brother was admired less for his sterling worth than for his sportive wit. According to his yearbook, Pusey was always “wise enough to play the fool.” He drew humorous cartoons to amuse his classmates, stole pies from the cafeteria and teased the Latin teacher to the point where his peers jokingly recommended that he be chloroformed. The Pusey brothers were incredibly bright, but according to classmates, were always “concentrating on adventure.”

 

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