May 07, 2007 - Sale 2113

Sale 2113 - Lot 183

Price Realized: $ 4,560
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
DESIGNER UNKNOWN 1 A IN OUR DRAFT. Circa 1943.
21 7/8x17 inches. Allied Printing, New York.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears in margins; vertical and horizontal folds.
In 1943 the Congress of Industrial Organizations created the Political Action Committee to help financially support the reelection of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ben Shahn created several posters to aid the organization, and these posters were widely distributed in order to "protect the political rights of the working man, the returning service man, the farmer and the small businessman" (Prescott p. 124). While most of the posters addressed the labor force (welders, farmers, etc.) others made seldom-seen social and ethnic appeals. This excellent, anonymous, photomontage superimposes Franklin Roosvelt's head over a massive crowd including workers, soldiers, women and others. The title of the poster uses prevailing military terminology to indicate Roosevelt as the best choice in the upcoming campaign for president. In 1955, the CIO merged with the American Federation of Labor.