Leon Golub was an American painter known for his unflinching depictions of brutality and war. As evinced in his Mercenaries I (1976), a depiction of two Vietnam-era US soldiers carrying a charred body between them. “What is power? How is power shown?” the artist once asked. “Would we rather look at pretty colors and shapes? Do we flinch at seeing our own crimes and nightmares in ink?” Born on January 23, 1922 in Chicago, IL, he received a BA in art history from the University of Chicago before serving in the military. On the G.I. Bill, Golub received both his BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he met his future wife the artist Nancy Spero. As the Vietnam War escalated, Golub’s belief...