Winner R. Hoe & Co., Inc. Award - National War Poster Competition
Held under the auspices of Artists for Victory, Inc - Council for Democracy - Museum of Modern Art
A powerful anti-Nazi image, a closed fist punches through a swastika. .
"American artists from 43 States have gone to war armed with paint brushes, canvas, paper and a terrific determination to arouse the nation to winning the fight. This they did through the medium of 2,224 war posters . . . Ever since war broke out, and especially since the President's speech on the state of the Union last January [1942] which inspired slogans for these posters, American artists have been battling within themselves for a way to fight the war. . . 26 art organizations rallied together under the banner "Artist's for Victory." [And] combined with the Council for Democracy, they planned this poster campaign" (Life Magazine, December 21, 1942, p. 54).
An exhibition of these posters was held at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in the final months of 1942, and this poster was one of nine winning entries that was chosen for "national distribution to factories and public buildings"(ibid). Rare Paret 275, Pollack p. 228