General MacArthur 1944

This sculpture was completed by the artist in 1944 when General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was visiting Perth. Family anecdotes claim that the work was originally sculpted in clay during a 2 hour demonstration of clay modelling held at a dinner for the Western District Home Guard that MacArthur was attending. The work was later cast in plaster. The work shows MacArthur in his typical attire, a bomber jacket and peaked cap. This image is comparable to many of the public images of MacArthur during his time in Australia. MacArthur was the General of the Army, USA and Commander in Chief, South West Pacific Area, Second World War.


Edward (Ted) Kohler (1890-1964) enlisted on 18 February 1915 and served at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli with 11th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade, A.I.F. It is believed that for some of this time he was a sniper. In October he was wounded. After Gallipoli he served on various fronts in northern France where he became an instructor on Lewis Guns for the Australian Corps School. Several photographs in the Australian War Memorial collection show Kohler at the Corps School (E01643, E01678). He was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal in 1918 and was discharged in April 1919.

After the war he worked with the Imperial War Graves Commission in London, then studied to be a sculptor at the Lille Academie des Beaux Arts in France. He worked on a number of commissions in Belgium and France, including the memorial to Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Commander in Chief, and produced a scale model for the Liege War Memorial. Kohler also worked in Brussels where he undertook small commissions for members of the Belgian royal family with whom he had become friends.

For various reasons Kohler returned to Western Australia in 1932, leaving his estranged wife and twin sons, and found work with the Ajax Plaster Company in West Perth where he became the head sculptor. Apart from decorative panels for buildings he modelled a wide range of products that became well known around Perth. He produced a maquette and final work on commission of King George V on horseback for Brisbane civic square. The maquette is now in the Art Gallery of Western Australia collection.

During the Second World War he was employed as a camouflage officer with the Department of Home Security eventually taking over from Professor A. D. Ross (University of WA) as Officer in Charge of the Western Area. Kohler's portrait of Professor Ross is located in the Physics building, University of WA. It is believed he was in charge of the Western District Home Guard in 1944. Caricatures by Roderick Shaw (ARTC00006, and ART29619) show Kohler in 1945.