Food Will Win the War
Artist
Charles Edward Chambers
United States, 1883 - 1941
Printer
Rusling Wood Litho., NY
United States
Date1917
Dimensions29 3/4 x 19 1/2 in. (75.6 x 49.5 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of Peter A. Blatz
Object numberPH.220
DescriptionOn May 5, 1917, Herbert Hoover was appointed head of the U.S. Food Administration; he had already told President Woodrow Wilson that “second only to military action [food] was the dominant factor” in winning the war. That agency published this poster during World War I as an appeal to new immigrants to help their adopted country save wheat and other food to feed the Allies. The message—that the United States has offered them so much that now they must sacrifice something in return—is reinforced by visual reminders of the magnitude of their arrival in New York Harbor and the abundance in this new land, one they must now ration on behalf of their new country. The awe-inspiring, golden skyline—perhaps playing off the old adage that the city’s streets were paved with gold—would have been recognizable to and instilled pride in those who arrived from Europe by ship. Clearly visible are the Woolworth Building, the Municipal Building, and the Singer Building. To reach a wide range of immigrants, this poster was printed in multiple languages, including English, Yiddish, Spanish, Italian, and Hungarian.On View
Not on view
