War Posters

January 17 – February 18, 1943
Ground Floor, Central Gallery

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: About 300 posters were selected from the National War Poster Competition. The competition had been held under the auspices of Artists for Victory, Inc., with the collaboration of the Council for Democracy and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the cooperation of the Office of Civilian Defense. Artists from 43 states submitted 2,224 designs. The posters portrayed 8 themes selected from the President's first war message to Congress on January 6, 1942, as well as 20 slogans. Subjects included "The Enemy is Listening;" "Loose Talk Sinks Ships;" "Slave World or Free World;" "Victory Starts Here;" "Someone Talked;" "Sacrifice--The Privilege of Free Men;" "On the Job--The Boys Need Guns;" "Go Without So They Won't Have To." The exhibition was first shown at the Museum of Modern Art, then at the Carnegie Institute of Art in Pittsburgh, and then circulated nationwide.

Other Venues: Museum of Modern Art, New York
Carnegie Institute of Art, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere