The red crosses on the poster were so fiery that I could almost feel the heat. The Red Cross emblems were emblazoned on waving flags with multicolored billowing clouds behind them.
In the left corner, I saw the name N.C. Wyeth stamped in capital letters. Titled “Answer the Call” and dated 1953, it was a lithograph of a painting that Wyeth had done years before (he died in 1945).
It was a beautiful advertising poster for the American Red Cross, and was in perfect condition except for a few small pieces of the edges missing from one corner. Once framed, the poster would look perfect.
Wyeth, patriarch of a family of artists whose son Andrew is the best known, created the painting for the poster in 1933. He was among several artists and illustrators who were commissioned by the Red Cross from World War I to the 1950s to create original artwork for its magazines and posters.
The others included James Montgomery Flagg (best known for the Uncle Sam “I Want You” recruiting poster), Norman Rockwell and Howard Chandler Christy – all of whom also created works for U.S. government agencies. The works were first produced by the artists in such mediums as oil, pastel, watercolor and charcoal.
The Red Cross relied on the posters as advertisement to get people to support its services through donation of their time and resources. The Red Cross Nurse was among the images the group used to rally people.
Wyeth also created covers for the Red Cross Magazine, which was said to have published until 1920. He is said to have contributed seven illustrations for the magazine. I found one illustration for a story inside one issue of the magazine in 1920.
His July 1918 cover showed one soldier carrying another as he saluted a figure of Christ on the cross. A March 1919 cover titled “Victorious Allies” depicted joyous soldiers celebrating the end of the war. Here’s that painting displayed in an unknown exhibit during the war.
The poster from the auction was reproduced from one with the same image but different wording in 1933. It was made during the Great Depression when life was hard for just about everybody in this country. The Dust Bowl fueled by a lack of rain in the Great Plains made the plight even worse. The Red Cross helped out by supplying wheat and flour to millions of hungry people, along with seeds for eventual planting.
The poster was used at least twice in 1933 with this wording: “The American Red Cross Carries On … Give!.” The second version replaced “Give” with “Join.”
