A deck gun has just fired. Smoke and flame roll away from the muzzle, and the crew is already reloading. One sailor, stripped to the waist, swings a long brass-cased shell toward the breech; another, in a white cap, leans in and waves him on; behind them men in steel helmets brace against the gun. Above the scene, in huge white letters on Navy blue: Dish it out with the Navy. Below: Choose now, while you can. McClelland Barclay painted it in 1942 for the Navy Recruiting Bureau, and it became one of the best-remembered recruiting posters of the war.
What the poster shows
Barclay was a commercial illustrator at the top of his trade, and it shows. The figures are big, muscular and close to the viewer, cropped by the edges of the picture so that you feel you are standing on the deck with them. The light is hot and theatrical: gold on the bare back and the brass shell, cold blue on the steel of the gun and the sailors’ dungarees. Everything moves in one direction, toward the breech.
The slogan is pure American slang. To “dish it out” is to hit hard, and the headline turns the Navy’s gunnery into a promise: join us and you will be the one doing the hitting. After a year of bad news from the Pacific, that was exactly the message the recruiters wanted.
“Choose now, while you can”
The second line was more than salesmanship. In 1942 a young man could still volunteer for the service of his choice, but the draft was taking more men every month. The printer’s line on original copies dates the poster to September 1942. Within three months, in December 1942, voluntary enlistment was closed to men of draft age, and from then on most recruits came through Selective Service. The poster’s warning, choose the Navy before someone chooses for you, came true almost at once.
Collections including the Hoover Institution, the University of North Texas and the State Archives of North Carolina hold original copies, printed on a large sheet for recruiting stations, post offices and store windows.
McClelland Barclay, artist and naval officer
McClelland Barclay was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on 9 May 1891 and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York. By the 1930s he was one of the best-paid illustrators in the country. His “Fisher Body Girl”, an elegant woman painted for General Motors’ Fisher Body advertisements, was as famous in her day as the Gibson Girl had been a generation earlier.
Barclay joined the Naval Reserve in 1938 and reported for active duty in October 1940. His first posting was to the Navy’s recruiting office in New York, where he produced a run of recruiting posters, Dish it Out With the Navy among them. He then went to sea as a combat artist, painting aboard battleships and cruisers, and rose to lieutenant commander.
On 18 July 1943 he was aboard the tank landing ship LST-342 in the Solomon Islands, sketching and taking photographs, when the ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine RO-106. The explosion broke the ship in two and killed most of the men aboard. Barclay’s body was never recovered. He was awarded the Purple Heart and later elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. The signature on this poster, “McClelland Barclay USNR”, is a reminder that the artist served in the war he was painting.
The restored edition
Our edition was restored from a scan of an original 1942 print. The painting was cleaned and its colour brought back, with creases, stains and wear removed, and Barclay’s signature is kept. We want to be clear about one difference: the lettering has been re-set rather than retouched from the original. The words are exactly the same, but the typefaces are close modern matches with a light shadow, and the small printer’s codes in the bottom margin have been left off. Compare the two below, or drag the before and after slider on the product page.
The restored poster is available as a paper print in three sizes or framed in black, white or natural wood, printed to order in the USA.
Prefer metal? View Dish It Out With the Navy on Displate ↗
Frequently asked questions
Who painted Dish it Out With the Navy?
McClelland Barclay (1891 to 1943), one of America’s best-known illustrators and an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He signed the painting “McClelland Barclay USNR”.
When was the poster issued?
In September 1942. It was published for the Navy Recruiting Bureau, and the printer’s line in the bottom margin of original copies carries a September 1942 date.
What does “Choose now while you can” mean?
It urged young men to volunteer for the Navy while they still had a choice of service. In December 1942 voluntary enlistment was ended for men of draft age, and from then on most recruits came through the Selective Service system.
What happened to McClelland Barclay?
He was killed in action on 18 July 1943, when the tank landing ship LST-342, on which he was sketching and taking photographs, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Solomon Islands. His body was never recovered, and he was awarded the Purple Heart.
Is the lettering on the restored print original?
The words are exactly the same, but on our restored edition the lettering has been re-set with close modern typefaces and a light shadow rather than retouched from the original print, and the small printer’s codes in the margin are left off. The painting itself is restored from the original.
How big is the restored print?
Our restored edition is available as a paper print up to 23.4 x 33.1 inches, or framed up to 23 x 33 inches, printed to order in the USA.
Historical sources
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives: Dish it out with the Navy! (Poster US 2549)
- UNT Digital Library: Dish it out with the Navy! Choose now while you can
- North Carolina Digital Collections: Dish It Out with the Navy
- Google Arts & Culture: Dish it out with the Navy!
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Dish It Out With the Navy
- McClelland Barclay biography
- USS LST-342