{{short description|United States Marine}} {{Other people|Michael Fay|Michael Fay (disambiguation)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox military person |image= |name=Michael Fay |birth_date=
| |caption= |nickname= |birth_place=Allentown, Pennsylvania |death_place= |burial_place= |burial_label= Place of burial |allegiance={{flag|United States}} |branch=23px United States Marine Corps |service_years=1975-1978<br/>1983-1993 |rank=8px Chief Warrant Officer-2<ref name="Pierce">{{cite news|url=http://arts.gov/NEARTS/2012v2-soul-america/seeing-believing|title=Seeing is Believing|last=Pierce|first=Christy Crytzer|year=2012|work=NEA Arts Magazine, Issue 2012, no 2|publisher=National Endowment for the Arts|access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=One such artist is Michael D. Fay, a painter, illustrator, and retired chief warrant officer for the Marine Corps.}}</ref> |unit= |commands= |battles= *Operation Desert Shield *Operation Desert Storm *Operation Eastern Exit *Operation Provide Promise *Operation Enduring Freedom (twice) *Operation Anaconda *Operation Mavericks *Operation Iraqi Freedom (twice) *Operation River Gate *Operation Steel Curtain<ref name="Atkinson">{{cite news|url=http://www.seapower-digital.com/seapower/200707/?pm=2&zin=169&u1=texterity&pg=46#pg48|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224215/http://www.seapower-digital.com/seapower/200707/?pm=2&zin=169&u1=texterity&pg=46#pg48|archive-date=December 17, 2013|title=The Art of War|last=Atkinson|first=Peter|date=July 2007|access-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=usurped|pages=46–48}}</ref> *Operation Iron Hammer |awards= *Navy Commendation Medal *Navy Achievement Medal x2 *Combat Action Ribbon |relations= |other_work= }}
'''Michael D. Fay''' is a former United States Marine Corps combat artist. Before his retirement from the Corps,<ref name="Pierce" /> he was a war artist serving in Iraq.<ref name="UWE">{{cite web|url=http://reportager.uwe.ac.uk/fay.htm|title='Reportager' : Members : Mike Fay : Research Group and Programme at the School of Creative Arts, University of the West of England|publisher=University of the West of England|access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=Michael D. Fay and was the official combat artist for the United States Marine Corps from 2000-2010. In this capacity he completed four combat tours as a war artist, two each in Iraq and Afghanistan, for the National Museum of the Marine Corps. In 2010 Mike retired and, among other things, founded The Joe Bonham Project. The JBP is a reportage art program documenting the faces and experiences of profoundly battle wounded soldiers and Marines.}}</ref><ref name="Reid">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sketching-veterans-recovering-from-war-so-their-stories-arent-lost/|title=Sketching veterans recovering from war, so their stories aren't lost - CBS News|last=Reid|first=Chip|date=3 May 2012|work=CBS News|access-date=28 November 2013 |quote=For nearly 100 years, since World War I, the U.S. military has used combat artists to create a visual record of America's wars. Among those artists in Iraq and Afghanistan was a Marine named Michael Fay.}}</ref><ref name="Soza">{{cite news|url=http://www.defendamerica.mil/profiles/june2003/pr060903a.html |title=Profile Article - Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Michael D. Fay |last=Soza |first=Samuel A |work=Defend America |publisher=US Department of Defense |access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=Marine Staff Sgt. Michael D. Fay, 49, a reservist from Fredericksburg, Va., can be best described as one of a kind. Classified as a combat illustrator, he is the only one in the Marine Corps Reserves with his occupation. Fay is serving in Iraq, and carrying on the long lineage of modern combat illustrators, beginning with artist Winslow Homer, who captured the intensity of the Civil War on canvas. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105125720/http://www.defendamerica.mil/profiles/june2003/pr060903a.html |archive-date=5 January 2014 }}</ref> He was deployed as an artist-correspondent embedded with US troops in Afghanistan.<ref name="UWE" /><ref name="Reid" /><ref name="nyt_ubaydi">{{Cite news |last=Fay |first=Michael D |url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/drawing-fire-into-ubaydi/?scp=6&sq=war%20artist&st=cse |title=Drawing Fire: Into Ubaydi |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=28 November 2013 |date=June 6, 2010 |quote=In 2005, then Chief Warrant Officer Michael D. Fay traveled to Iraq in his capacity as official Marine Corps artist. There he fought with Marines engaged in Operation Steel Curtain against insurgents along the Euphrates River, and documented the events in sketches, photographs and audio recordings.}}</ref><ref name="North">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13912445|title=BBC News - War artist draws US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan|last=North|first=Andrew|date=25 June 2011|work=BBC Online|access-date=28 November 2013|quote=To his left flank, there is a line of trees. He is in the Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan. [...] This is only a painting by American war artist Michael Fay. But it could sum up the fears of many in the US military that President Barack Obama is pulling out his troops too quickly from Afghanistan, sacrificing any gains they have made on the battlefield.}}</ref> He resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia.<ref name="Soza" /><ref name="Chinn">{{cite news|url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2001/122001/12052001/463889|title=Marines capture war in art|last=Chinn|first=Lisa|date=5 December 2001|work=Fredericksburg.com|access-date=29 November 2013|quote=Fay, a Fredericksburg resident, is a member of the field history reserve unit, which is part of the Marine Corps Historical Center in Washington.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235128/http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2001/122001/12052001/463889|archive-date=2013-12-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Military career== {{BLP sources section|date=November 2013}} Fay enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1975 and was discharged in 1978<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradway |first=Rich |date=2010-05-02 |title=An Evening With Combat Artist Marine Chief Warrant Officer Michael Fay - Norman Rockwell Museum - The Home for American Illustration |url=https://www.nrm.org/2010/05/an-evening-with-combat-artist-marine-chief-warrant-officer-michael-fay/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Norman Rockwell Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> as an 81 mm mortarman (MOS 0341). In 1978, he returned to Pennsylvania State University and graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Art Education.<ref name="Chinn2">{{cite news|url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2002/042002/04072002/570981|title=Watercolor WARRIOR|last=Chinn|first=Lisa|date=7 April 2002|work=Fredericksburg.com|access-date=29 November 2013|quote=Fay, 48, has a bachelor's degree in art education from Penn State. He worked on helicopters during 13 years of active duty, including earlier tours in Somalia and Desert Storm.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002802/http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2002/042002/04072002/570981|archive-date=2013-12-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1983, re-enlisted into the Marines and served as an avionics technician (MOS 6322) working on CH-46s, VH-3Ds, CH-53Es and UH/AH-1s in the Presidential Helicopter Squadron (HMX-1) and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365 (HMM-365) until 1993.<ref name="Chinn2" /> Fay served a tour on recruiting duty (MOS 8411) at Recruiting Station Baltimore as a recruiter of the year for 1989 and 1990. He left active duty at the end of September 1993.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
Fay returned to service in the Marine Corps Reserve in January 2000. He was assigned as an official combat artist with the National Museum of the Marine Corps Combat Art Collection.<ref name="Soza" /> He is now retired from the Marine Corps.<ref name="Pierce" /><ref name="nyt_ubaydi"/>
===War artist===
The United States Marine Corps supports three combat artists<ref group="note">Sources differ on the numbers. in recent years (2013) the number of combat artists has dwindled to one. This figure is for the USMC. Other fighting units deploy their own artists</ref> to produce fine art based on their experiences of combat and the life of Marines on the battlefield.<ref name="BBCNewsApril2007">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6508423.stm|title=BBC NEWS - In Pictures: US war artist|date=14 April 2007|work=BBC Online|access-date=28 November 2013 |quote=Michael Fay is an official US Marine war artist, one of only three in the service. His mission - "Go do art" - has taken him to Iraq and Afghanistan.}}</ref> The orders are "Go to war. Do art."<ref name="ABCNCombatArtists">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/story?id=3572902|title=Person of the Week: Combat Artists|date=7 September 2007|work=ABC News|access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=They are on active duty and are fully armed and deployed in the roughest combat zones of their day. "And we are given one order when we go forward, and that is, 'Go to war, do art,'" said Chief Warrant Officer Michael Fay.}}</ref> The artists are unfettered in their choice of subject.<ref name="Pierce" /><ref name="Kendall">{{cite news|url=http://resonancemag.com/downloads/Resonance54_issue.pdf |title=War Paint |last=Kendall |first=Kris |date=August 2007 |access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=The Marine Corps gives the combat artists all the art supplies they need and allows them to sketch anything they see. “It’s like having a very good patron.” |pages=58–62 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208124821/http://resonancemag.com/downloads/Resonance54_issue.pdf |archive-date=8 February 2012 }}</ref> Fay's artwork is in the Marine Corps Combat Art collection,<ref name="Soza" /> the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the collection of the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Nagy">{{cite news|url=http://www.wildriverreview.com/interview/art/suzanne-opton-michael-fay/human-faces-of-war/kim%20Nagy/Joy-E-Stocke|title=ART - INTERVIEW - Suzanne Opton and Michael Fay - The Human Face of War|last=Nagy|first=Kimberley|author2=Stocke, Joy|work=Wild River Review|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="Mitchner">{{cite news|url=http://www.towntopics.com/sep0507/art.html|title=Art and War: Behind The Thousand Mile Stare|last=Mitchner|first=Stuart|date=5 September 2007|work=Town Topics - Princeton's Weekly Community Newspaper|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>
Fay has also had solo exhibitions at the Farnsworth Museum, where he was the target of a protest group.<ref name="Lydon">{{cite news|url=http://www.radioopensource.org/combat-art/|title=Combat Art|last=Lydon|first=Christopher|date=20 September 2005|work=Radio Open Source|access-date=29 November 2013 |quote=When Sgt. Michael Fay arrived at his first one-man show at the Farnsworth Museum, he found peace protesters outside the museum with flyers with his name all over them, saying his art glorified war.}}</ref> His artwork has been published in Leatherneck Magazine{{mdash}}the official magazine of the Marine Corps Association{{mdash}}and the New York Times. ''The Guardian'' called his work "exceptionally moving and thought-provoking", and said, "Over the past decade, Fay has seen action as a war artist with US troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but his latest journey was to a military veterans' hospital in Richmond, Virginia. In the resulting New York Times blogs, he relays his meetings with three young men severely wounded in Afghanistan. His account of their injuries and rehabilitation is gripping, but what really deepens the reporting are his drawings, reproduced alongside the articles."<ref name="JonesGuardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/mar/21/michael-fay-war-drawings|title=Michael Fay's sketches of war capture more than just scarred flesh|last=Jones|first=Jonathan|date=21 March 2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 November 2013}}</ref>
Fay has also recorded wounded veterans recovering from their injuries.<ref name="Pelley">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-sketches-of-a-war-artist/|title=The sketches of a war artist - Pictures - CBS News|last=Pelley|first=Scott|work=CBS News|pages=1–10|access-date=28 November 2013 |quote=Mike Fay visits veteran recovering from war wounds and sketches them "to get their stories into the culture.}}</ref> As part of this work he founded the Joe Bonham Project to document the experiences of the wounded.<ref name="UWE" /><ref name="Kino">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/arts/design/joe-bonham-project-illustrates-the-wounds-of-war.html|title=Portraits of Wat|last=Kino|first=Carol|date=25 May 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="Gammage">{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-02/news/43595401_1_joe-bonham-project-civil-war-world-war-ii|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204071556/http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-02/news/43595401_1_joe-bonham-project-civil-war-world-war-ii|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 4, 2013|title=Drexel University's Joe Bonham project highlights human cost of war|last=Gammage|first=Jeff|work=Philadelphia Media Network|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> After retirement, Fay campaigned for enhanced recognition and improved working opportunities for war artists.<ref name="Kino2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/arts/design/18marines.html?pagewanted=all|title=With Sketchpads and Guns, Semper Fi|last=Kino|first=Carol|date=14 July 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> Fay also uses sculpture.<ref name="Moyer">{{cite news|url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/032008/03092008/356733|title=Military artists capture realities of the war zone|last=Moyer|first=Laura|date=9 March 2008|work=Fredericksburg.com|access-date=29 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001642/http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/032008/03092008/356733|archive-date=2013-12-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Illustration; his thesis was called ''The Boy Who Drew Soldiers''.<ref name="FaySchool2012">{{cite book|last=Fay|first=Michael D.|title=Naturalist to Imagist: The Boy who Drew Soldiers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lYm6mAEACAAJ|access-date=29 November 2013|year=2012|publisher=University of Hartford}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} *War artist *American official war artists *Kristopher Battles
==Notes== {{Reflist |group="note"}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121113131241/http://www.michenermuseum.org/exhibits/fire-and-ice.php The James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania]}} *[http://frontlines.blogs.nytimes.com/?8qa New York Times' Times Select] *[http://mdfay1.blogspot.com/ Michael D. Fay's blog, "Fire & Ice"] *[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114047430105778417 Wall Street Journal Article by Michael Phillips]{{Subscription required}} *[http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/popup?id=3573104 ABC News Slide Show of Art] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080413220339/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=132745 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Article] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121107141158/http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_342_Combat_Artist.mp3/view American Public Media The Story Interview with Dick Gordon] *[http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/04/04/midmorning2/ Minnesota Public Radio Interview with Fay] *[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/22/cnr.04.html CNN Interview transcript with Fay] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120206002140/http://www.dav.org/news/magazine/documents/magazine_mar_apr_06.pdf Disabled American Veteran Magazine] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071007120524/http://www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/leatherneckmagazine/200611 Leatherneck Magazine:Faces in a Combat Zone] *[http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-miscellaneous-shopping/4424244-1.html/ American Artist Drawing Winter 2005]{{Dead link|date=November 2013}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110710143941/http://www.donhcs.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LnyIjDsXOyM%3D&tabid=114&mid=580%2F Pentagon Show]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Michael D.}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American war artists Category:United States Marine Corps officers Category:United States Marine Corps reservists Category:Artists from Allentown, Pennsylvania Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)