ART & ARTISTS: World War 1 posters

During World War 1 the impact of the poster as a means of communication was greater than at any other time during history. The ability of poster to inspire, inform, and persuade combined with vibrant design trends in many of the participating countries to produce thousands of interesting visual works. As a valuable historical research resource, the posters provide multiple points of view for understanding this global conflict. As artistic works, the posters range in style form graphically vibrant works by well-known designers to anonymous ones.

Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

This is Part 1 of a 10-part series on WW1 posters:

1914 He did his duty. Will You do Yours? Field Marshal Lord Roberts was probably Britain's most famous soldier when the war broke out in 1914. He died of pneumonia at St Omer in France during a visit to Indian troops in November of that year. After lying in state in Westminster Hall, one of only two non-Royals to do so in the 20th century, the other being Winston Churchill, he was given a state funeral. Roberts had been a soldier for over 50 years and this poster appeals to recruits to follow his example of service and loyalty.

1914 He did his duty. Will YOU do YOURS?

1914 Banca Italiano di Sconto

Enrico Lione, the name chosen by Enrico Della Leonessa (1865-1921) was an Italian painter active in a Divisionist style. He was born and died in Naples. He trained and was active for many year in Rome.

1914 Banca Italiano di Sconto
artist Enrico Lionne (1865-1921 Italy)

1914 Britain Needs You At Once

1914 Britons ( Field Marshal Lord Kitchener) "Wants You"
artist: Alfred Leete

1914 Come Along Boys and Join the Army
artist W. H. Caffyn

1916 Gute Bücher, Gute Kameraden
(Good Books, Good Comrades)
artist Oswald Weise (Germany)

1914 Das Buch Giebt Freude und Trost
(The book gives joy and comfort)
artist Oswald Weise (Germany)

1914 Fikszirozzák A Feleségem!
(My Wife is Being Ogled At!)
artist Antal Weiss (Austria-Hungary)

1914 Pufi (Fatso)
artist Antal Weiss (Austria-Hungary)

1915 Kinoriport (Cinematic Reportage)
artist Antal Weiss (Austria-Hungary)

1918 Jegyezzünk Hadikölcsönt a Fabanknál!
(Subscribe to the War Loan at Fabank)
artist Antal Weiss (Austria-Hungary)

1914 Forward to Victory by Lucy Kemp Welch:

Lucy Kemp Welch

1915 Remember Scarborough, Enlist Now
artist Lucy Kemp-Welch

1914 Our Ancestors Fought For Our Freedom
published in South Africa

1914 Red Cross artist Ludwig Hohlwein (Germany 1874-1949)

Ludwig Hohlwein (1874-1949) was born in Wiesbaden, Berchtesgaden in 1874. He was a German poster artist. He was trained and practiced as an architect until 1906 when he switched to poster design.

Hohlwein's most artistically important phase was before World War II in the years 1912-1925. A large variety of his best posters dates to this period. He developed his own distinct style with sharply defined forms, bright colours and a good portion of humour. By 1925, he had already designed 3000 different advertisements.

Note: A series on the works of Ludwig Hohlwein can be found in the index of this blog.

Ludwig Hohlwein

1914 Red Cross
artist Ludwig Hohlwein (Germany)

c1918 People's Charity for German Prisoners of War
artist Ludwig Hohlwein (Germany)

1914 Remember Belgium Enlist To-day
artist unknown (U.K.)

1914 The Only Road for an Englishman

London Underground led the way among the many private organisations which published patriotic and recruiting posters during the war. Under the inspired leadership of Frank Pick, the Underground had acquired a well deserved reputation for the outstanding quality of its peacetime travel posters and now sought to apply the same principles to designing wartime notices. In 1914 Pick actually refused to display the designs of the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee on the Tube because they were 'too bad to be hung'. Instead he commissioned Frank Brangwyn and Gerald Spenser Pryse to create high quality and memorable designs to encourage commuters to enlist. From 1916 the Underground also commissioned some of the finest artists of the day to produce decorative posters for army billets and YMCA huts as 'a reminder of home.’

1914 The Only Road for an Englishman
artist Gerald Spenser Pryse (1882–1956)

1914 The Veteran's Farewell, Enlist Now!
artist Frank Dadd (1851-1929)

Keep on sending me OXO
artist Frank Dadd

1914 There's Room for You, Enlist To-Day: William Arthur Fry (1865-1930) was an artist born in Otley, Yorkshire in 1865 who painted landscapes, portraits and seascapes.