As a young artist struggling to survive during the Great Depression, George C. Soule (1914-2008) found work as an artist in the New Hampshire Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  He was among the three million 18-to-24-year-old men participating in the public works relief program to construct parks and conserve our nation's natural resources.
 
A New Hampshire native, Soule was educated at Manchester West High School and studied at the Massachusetts School of Art and the Manchester Institute of Arts & Sciences for two years.  Needing to help support his family, he worked as an artist documenting life and work in New Hampshire's CCC camps from 1935-1937.  
 
Soule then won a scholarship to study at Yale University, graduating with a BFA in 1941. He returned to Manchester and studied architecture, eventually establishing the firm of Soule & Associates designing houses, churches, schools, and commercial buildings across New Hampshire.  Soule designed many post-World War II public and private buildings in the Manchester area, including Dobles Chevrolet.  Although working as an architect from 1945 through 1994, he maintained a lifelong interest in art, sketching portraits, and painting murals.

 

Soule's drawings are pencil, pen, and crayon sketches on paper consisting of portraits, life studies, and genre scenes related to CCC service.  He documented the lives of workers clearing forests, building roads, and relaxing after work.  These sketches are a rare visual record of everyday life among camp workers. 
 
The New Hampshire Historical Society recently received a gift of more than 300 works by Soule, including drawings of CCC life and renderings of architectural projects.  The George C. Soule Collection was the gift of Patricia, Cynthia, and Peter Soule.