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HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY.
“I Am an American!”Charcoal and pastel on board. 1372x1067 mm; 54x42 inches. Inscribed “To
the SPIRIT OF AMERICA”, and signed by Christy, lower right image. Some areas of faint pastel
smudges.Original wood frame and glass.[NewYork],1941.
[25,000/35,000]
This original study for the iconic “I Am an American” billboard poster was donated by Howard
Chandler Christy to PS. 60, the Ottilia M. Beha Junior High School, 420 East 12th Street, NewYork
City. It was created to celebrate “I Am an American Day” on May 18th, 1941.The event took place in
Central Park, where native-born Americans and those who had attained citizenship through naturaliza-
tion gathered and recited an oath of allegiance to the United States. Congress eventually moved the
holiday to September and renamed it “Constitution and Citizenship Day.”The determined, spirited
“Columbia” in the maquette was based on model Elise Ford; she is seen here donning a traditional lau-
rel wreath, bearing a torch and a volume of Constitutional Law.The Chairman for the Mayor’s rally
committee, Federal Judge Murray Hulbert, was quoted in the NewYork Times on May 4, 1941, sug-
gesting that if Hitler could see the poster it would “stop him in his tracks.” Billboard-sized versions of the
poster were hung inTimes Square to publicize the Central Park celebrations in the 1940s. Both Christy
and Ford were in attendence at theTimes Square unveiling in 1942 with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.