Selected Fine Art By William Teason

These paintings were done in French Guiana (Guyana) where William was stationed during WWII. How he ended up there is an interesting anecdote.

When the war broke out, William decided to serve his country. He enlisted in the Air Force but was washed out. He was then sent to South America but did not have his orders. When he got there he got very sick and spent a month in the infirmary. When he was released, he went to see the colonel about his orders. He was told he was sent there to run the USO show. William told the colonel he knew nothing about setting up or running a show. The colonel told him they had a guy from New York who knew how to do that. William then asked what the colonel wanted him to do and was told "don't get into any trouble, keep yourself busy". So for a year and a half as the war wound down William was painting the scenery in French Guiana. He would hire natives to take him out in dugout canoes and would ask them to stop when he saw something he wanted to paint. Some of his works from this time period are below.