Wartime Propaganda
George Creel, who headed the Committee on Public Information during World War I, considered posters crucial for wartime communication. “I had the conviction,” he wrote, “that the poster must play a great part in the fight for public opinion. The printed word might not be read, people might not choose to attend meetings or to watch motion pictures, but the billboard was something that caught even the most indifferent eye.”
During World War II, film clips, leaflets, and radio were also employed, but posters were still considered effective tools of propaganda. Much of the poster art emphasized the unembellished photographic imagery and simple texts favored by commercial advertisers at the time. Some posters, instead of exploiting sentimental themes related to the family and American values, featured renowned military leaders who could unite home front and battle front with a single authoritative voice.
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You Are Wanted by U.S. Army
John J. Pershing
K. M. Bara, c. 1917
Color lithographic poster
106.7 x 72.5cm (42 x 28 9/16 in.)
National Portrait Gallery
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Pershing’s Crusaders
John J. Pershing
H. C. Miner Lithography Company, 1918
Color lithographic poster 200 x 104 cm (78 3/4 x 40 15/16 in.)
National Portrait Gallery
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Victory Begins at Home
Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.
Unidentified artist for Industrial Incentive Division, Navy Department, c. 1940 101.7 x 76.1 cm (40 1/16 x 29 15/16 in.)
National Portrait Gallery; gift of Leslie, Judith, and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
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Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
Dorie Miller
David Stone Martin, 1943
71.2 x 51.4 cm (28 1/16 x 20 1/4 in.)
National Portrait Gallery
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Pvt. Joe Louis Says— .
Joe Louis
Unidentified artist for Graphics Division, Office of Facts and Figures, 1942 Color photolithographic poster with halftone 101.5 x 72.3 cm (39 15/16 x 28 7/16 in.)
National Portrait Gallery |
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Combat America
Clark Gable
Unidentified artist for the U.S. Treasury Department, 1944
Color photolithographic poster with halftone 81.6 x 61 cm (32 1/8 x 24 in.)
National Portrait Gallery; gift of Beverly Cox
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Export of American Culture |
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