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Posters were a popular and effective communication medium in the era before the television and the Internet. Posters were designed to provoke an immediate response from their audience and they were widely circulated in towns and cities across the land. They urged their viewers to buy, to sell, and for the American Red Cross, "to join."
Many distinguished artists and illustrators produced memorable works that defined the American Red Cross as the leader in providing humanitarian service. Artists such as Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, Norman Rockwell, and N.C. Wyeth created works for the annual Roll Call membership and fund raising campaigns. Their work was widely distributed across the nation, and literally became part of the changing cultural landscape of America.
The Greatest Mother
Alonzo Foringer, 1918
The Greatest Mother was an immensely popular poster produced for the Second War Fund Campaign in 1918 about a year after America had entered World War I. Its creator, Alonzo Foringer, was a skilled mural artist and banknote designer. the theme for the poster was introduced by an advertising executive to convey an image of mercy and tenderness. Foringer chose the sculptress Agnes Tait as his model, and the poster became an instant success. Widely reproduced, some ten million copies were distributed in towns and cities across the country. Its tremendous popularity inspired a host of imitations, from musical revues to plaster sculptures. The theme of the Greatest Mother became synonymous with the American Red Cross, and it was re-interpreted in subsequent posters during the following decades.
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