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Eisner Museum Exhibit Commemorates Red Cross 125th Anniversary
Written by
Katie Lawson
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 — This year the American Red Cross celebrates its 125th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the Eisner-American Museum of Advertising & Design in Milwaukee, Wis., is hosting an exhibit chronicling the history and service of the American organization.
The Eisner is the only museum in the country dedicated to advertising and design. Founded in 2000, it is located in Milwaukee’s third ward at 208 North Water Street. The exhibit, which opened on Feb. 8 and runs through July 31, features historic promotional materials as well as a photographic timeline of the Red Cross through its 125-year history.
Tom Goehner, Manager of Historical Outreach for the American Red Cross, selected and provided detailed information on the artwork, posters, photographs and other historic Red Cross items on display at the Eisner-American Museum of Advertising & Design in Milwaukee, Wis., commerating 125 years of Red Cross service. Goehner attended the exhibit opening on Feb. 8.
(Photo Credit: Jacqueline Manning/American Red Cross)
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Tom Goehner, Manager of Historical Outreach for the Red Cross, and Cori Coffman, Executive Director of the Eisner, worked together to compile pieces of Red Cross history for the museum. Coffman had visited Washington, D.C., to view the organization’s historic collection with Goehner as her guide and was intrigued by what she saw. Shortly after her visit, the museum agreed to host the exhibit and Goehner, with the help of Jacqueline Manning in the organization's communication department, began selecting the materials for it.
“The Red Cross has a remarkable story to tell visually through its advertising history. Even now the posters still grab our attention,” said co-curator Goehner.
On display at the Eisner are examples from various print campaigns as well as nursing uniforms, poster art from war-time blood drives, pins, Christmas seals and hurricane relief photography. Visitors to the exhibit will find many classic poster advertisements representing the different war and peacetime efforts necessitating public support. The featured Christmas seals were originally designed to raise money for tuberculosis patients in the early years of the twentieth century.
The collection also highlights the contributions of a number of outstanding Red Cross personalities—Henry Dunant the young Swiss business man who founded the movement after witnessing the suffering of soldiers on an Italian battlefield in 1859; Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross Society in America (as it was originally known); Jane Delano who founded the first Red Cross nursing program in 1909; and Dr. Charles Drew, medical director of the first American Red Cross Blood Bank in the United States.
Later this spring, the exhibit will travel to Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., for display both at a fundraising gala that celebrates the organization’s 125th anniversary and at its annual national convention.
In addition to the 125th anniversary, March is Red Cross Month. For more than 60 years, the President of the United States has proclaimed March to be Red Cross Month. First declared in 1943 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it is an opportunity to educate the public about the Red Cross and invite them to show their support.
This year, Red Cross Month showcases the critical role that this volunteer-driven organization continues to play in communities across the country as they recover from disasters big and small – from hurricanes to home fires – and provides an opportunity to thank all those who donated their time, money or blood in response to one of the most demanding years in the organization’s history.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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