Republic Steel
Artist
Douglas Crockwell
Date1943
MediumLithograph
Dimensions28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LineGift of Saul Zalesch
Object numberPH.7472
DescriptionDuring the 1930s, Republic Steel, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, became America’s third-largest steel company and during World War II it was at the center of the country’s booming steel industry, producing weapons and equipment for the U. S. military. It was also one of the companies that helped the federal government sell war bonds by issuing posters like this one from 1943. The illustration here shows two U.S. military surgeons on a break in an operating theater abroad, discussing the latest political news. The comment “Vote for That Guy? Not on Your Life!” contrasts the right of Americans to political dissent with the position of the German enemy who must “just say ‘Ja’—or else.” The poster is not only intended to sell war bonds but also asserts the important role of American industrial workers in the war effort and their defense of the American values of freedom and democracy that will guarantee prosperity and victory. Douglass Crockwell was a commercial artist who produced numerous illustrations and advertisements for The Saturday Evening Post; he was also an experimental filmmaker. During the war, he designed posters for the United Service Organizations (USO), the Army, the Marines, and the Army Nurse Corps; he also won an award for his 1945 poster for American Relief for Holland.On View
Not on view
