W. H. D. Koerner

Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev "Big Bill" Körner (November 1878 – August 11, 1938), also known as Wilhelm Heinrich Dethlef Koerner, William HD Koerner, WHDK, or W.H.D. Koerner, was a noted illustrator of the American West whose works became known to new audiences when his painting, nicknamed A Charge to Keep, was used as the cover image for the ghostwritten biography by the same name by George W. Bush. This painting, which hung in the Oval Office during the Bush presidency was of special interest to journalists due to the interpretation given by Bush of the painting's meaning in light of the meaning and title attached to the painting by the artist.

Koerner was born in Lunden, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia. His parents immigrated to Clinton, Iowa when he was three years old. Although he had little art training as a youth, his raw talent was always obvious to his parents and to everyone who viewed his sketches. At the age of twenty, Koerner was hired by the Chicago Tribune as a staff artist at $5 per day. Shortly thereafter, he married and accepted a job as art editor for a brand new newspaper, the United States Daily. When the paper folded, he and his wife moved to New York City, where he was hired by Pilgrim Magazine to cover the 1904 St. Louis Exposition. He enrolled at the Art Students League for a two-year program during 1905–07 under George Bridgman, Norman Rockwell's teacher. A student colleague later persuaded Koerner to apply to Howard Pyle's illustration school in Wilmington. Koerner's exposure to Howard Pyle was significant, but his student colleagues also had much to offer and he shared techniques and styles with the likes of N. C. Wyeth, Harvey Dunn, Frank Schoonover and Stanley Arthurs. While still a Pyle student, he rented a studio adjacent to Anton Otto Fischer and William Foster and the interaction between these talented students proved mutually invaluable.

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