Gulf War speaks to an immediacy within Brown's observation of world politics that few artists of the era would readily commit to. Depicting George Bush and Saddam Hussein against blood red skies, the diptych presents them as larger-than-life monoliths erupting from the horizon, their shoulders sharing continuity with the hills, their heads encircled by helicopters like behemoths from monster movies. While the diptych arrangement has two sets of tanks facing off against each other, each internal composition has either leader as both idol and target of the soldiers present; as said the New York Times of the piece, "[Roger Brown's Gulf War] suggests that as makers of war, these leaders were kindred spirits." This interest in international politics was a perennial fascination in the second half of Brown's career, with Cold War tensions, political unrest, terrorism, revolutions, and imperialism recurrently being meditated upon as a reality of the late 20th century.

This piece is a part of the Estate of Roger Brown, held by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Sale of this work goes to benefit the ongoing operation of the Roger Brown Study Center, serving the Chicago community with educational resources and a world-class collection of self-taught art from Brown's personal collection. Preference for collection of Roger Brown's work will be given to public collections and institutions who share in the mission to benefit their communities.