Page 129 - Swann Galleries - Modernist Posters - Sale 2314 - May 13, 2013

BEN SHAHN (1898-1969)
153 ● BREAK REACTION’S GRIP / REGISTER - VOTE. Circa 1946.
41x29 inches, 104x74 cm. L.I.P. & B.A., New York.
Condition B+: vertical and horizontal folds; creases and abrasions in image.
In the years after World War II, Shahn took on a new threat - reactionaries. “The one arm, dressed in
coat sleeve and shirt cuff, with hand clasping a colorful map of the United States, represents the
country’s supposedly small, but powerful, reactionary forces. The poster suggests that however strong,
their power could be broken by the greater strength of the progressive forces, as represented by the
larger, sleeveless arm” (Prescott p. 131). Prescott 154, Word & Image 91, Modern Poster 198,
American Style p. 111. [2,000/3,000]