In February 1916 Julie Helen Heyneman (1868–1942) established California House, located at 82 Lancaster Gate, West London, as a refuge for disabled Belgian soldiers. The carnage of World War I was producing vast numbers of wounded men who found themselves in a strange land unable to work, get home, or even speak the language. This poster by Belgian graphic artist Constant “Stan” van Offel shows one such soldier approaching Heyneman’s door, the shading of the figure suggesting the man’s need to be made whole.

Julie Heyneman spent her childhood and youth in San Francisco, where she attended classes at the Art Students League. She sailed for Europe in 1891 to immerse herself in art. Living in London, she became a pupil and lifelong friend of John Singer Sargent, the noted portrait painter. Heyneman would continue her life of art as a painter, teacher, and writer, but for a brief period during the terrible years of the Great War, she also shone as a humanitarian. California House met a very specific, if fleeting, need.

Donors back in California proved eager to give money. Lou Henry Hoover was on the board, along with luminaries such as Bernard Baruch, Phoebe Hearst, and Sargent. Since most of the soldiers spoke Flemish, Heyneman and her allies taught them English and found work for some as interpreters. The soldiers also took free classes in subjects such as math, chemistry, and other languages. Those who had lost their legs in battle were taught manual arts: woodworking, bookbinding, drawing, and painting. The emphasis, Heyneman later said, was on productive work. California House closed in 1919 as the need diminished.