Person of the Week: Steve Mumford

"Most people in the room were crying eventually -- including me," he said, looking at the memorial painting.

Tradition of Combat Artists

Mumford is part of a great tradition. Every country that has gone to war -- including Britain, France, Russia and Canada -- has had combat artists. Mumford says he was influenced by Winslow Homer, an artist who rose to fame during the Civil War.

After the world wars, however, combat artists were largely replaced by combat photographers.

"Part of what I'd like to do is to revive an interest" in artists, Mumford said, "because I think that art can bring a lot that photography can't."

After spending more than 10 months in Iraq, Mumford felt it was time to leave.

"The security situation in Baghdad was rapidly deteriorating," he said. "It was harder and harder to leave the hotel. I felt increasingly like I was being watched."

Today, at home in New York City, he is finishing some of the work he started overseas. In every way, he says, it was an extraordinary experience.

"It was actually fascinating," he said. "We did everything from stopping bank robberies that were in progress to checking on other battalions strewn around Baghdad. I didn't know what I was going to find when I got to Iraq, but I certainly found a lot of subject matter that I think I am going to be chewing over for years to come."

Mumford's artwork can be found at www.artnet.com/magazine/features/baghdadjournal.asp.

Peter Jennings filed this report for "World News Tonight."