WILLIAM GROPPER (1897-1977)
"Keep Him on the Run/Buy More Bonds." Maquette for a Liberty Loan poster, circa 1943-44. Oil on canvas. 1016x762 mm; 40x30 inches. Signed "Gropper" lower left. Frame has plaque that reads "Presented by the War Finance Division of/the United States Treasury Department to/Northampton County/for Meritorious Service in the War Bond Program."
Exhibited: ACA Galleries and Associated American Artists.
Condition:
Canvas is quite loose and may benefit from restretching.
Blacklight reveals no restoration work. Surface generally clean but for some light scuffs near area of bombs, some speckling near horses's face and mane, possibly from chemical change in paint or canvas lining. Rear of canvas shows even mild area of darkening to bottom third (again, likely from a turpentine or canvas preparation).
Frame could use some touching up; there are some areas of scuffing and one large scratch along right edge as well as some fraying of linen edging peeking through in a few places.
Provenance Notes:
This painting was purchased over 25 years ago by the current owner at an estate auction on Long Island. It had likely been in private hands for many years prior.
The ACA and AAA labels represent postwar exhibitions. Abbott Labs was the US military's primary medical supplier during the Second World War. As part of the company's contribution to the war effort (as well as its PR offensive), Abbott engaged dozens of artists including Gropper, Hirsch, and T.H. Benton to design posters and document the war on canvas. Ownership of the artwork reverted to the government by June 1945 and was subsequently disposed of in a variety of ways.
Born in New York City into a family of Jewish immigrants, Gropper is best known for satirical cartoons and images about war, politics, and social injustice. He began his career with the New York Tribune and published in mainstream magazines like Vanity Fair, but he also contributed to more radical left-wing magazines, including The Masses and Liberator, and Communist publications, such as Freiheit and the Daily Worker. Though Gropper was later branded a Communist and was blacklisted in the post-war McCarthy era, this did not deter the artist from continuing to create satirical images that revealed his political and social views which conservatives deemed radical.
This large maquette for a well-known Liberty Loan poster reflects Gropper's dedication to raising opposition to fascism in Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
