If Only In My Dreams by William S. Phillips

The tranquility of this Christmas evening, 1943, is broken for a short time by sounds of a distant B-17. The aircraft, symbolic of the war, is now small and distant compared to the warmth and communion of family and friends gathered at home, but it offers a reminder of the sacrifices that lie ahead in the titanic struggle known as World War II.

Dubbed The American Homefront Collection, "If Only in My Dreams" was the first of these paintings and is infused with the somber concern and patient longing for the return of the soldiers during the early years of the war.