Help Him Get Through!/Buy War Bonds
Artist
Arthur Schnakenberg
United States, 1892 - 1970
Datec. 1943
Dimensions15 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (39.4 x 27.3 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of Peter A. Blatz
Object numberPH.201
DescriptionThis poster urging Americans to buy war bonds was one of a series published by Abbott Laboratories in support of the U.S. Treasury’s bond drives during World War II. Abbott, founded in Chicago in 1888, supplied the U.S. military with medical products during both world wars.) This detailed image of a U.S. soldier, his shirt open, dog tags visible, and bayonet at the ready as he navigates dense jungle somewhere in the South Pacific, individualizes the war; the slogan further establishes a direct connection between the contributions of civilians and the efforts of combatants like this one. However, it is unusual in that this kind of territory was rarely depicted in American World War II posters. The painterly quality of the composition reflects Arthur Schnakenberg’s formal training at the Art Students League in New York and possibly also his service in the U.S. Army during World War I. During the 1930s, under the Works Progress Administration, he had painted murals for the post offices in Amsterdam, New York and in Fort Lee New Jersey. On View
Not on view
