Vintage Poster Archives
American Red Cross 1943 | Military Welfare Poster | Whitman
American Red Cross 1943 | Military Welfare Poster | Whitman
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Two American Red Cross officers in military dress uniform: a female officer in dark cap with red cross insignia and a male officer in khaki uniform with service badges. The composition centres on their professional bearing against a navy blue background, rendered in the realistic illustration style that defined wartime recruitment materials.
Designed by John Franklin Whitman Jr in 1943 for the American Red Cross War Fund campaign. Whitman (1896-1967), a Philadelphia illustrator who served as a corporal in the Army during WW2, created this as part of his series documenting Red Cross military welfare services. The poster promoted the Red Cross Military Welfare Service, which provided recreational facilities, educational programs, and personal services to American servicemen both in training camps and overseas.
The bold typography declares the mission: Red Cross workers serving fighting forces in camp and overseas. This poster belongs to Roosevelt's "greatest single crusade of mercy in all of history", the wartime Red Cross campaign that raised over $784 million by 1945.
A historical document from America's home front mobilisation, reproduced as an archival print on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper. Appeals to collectors of wartime graphics and students of mid-century American design history.
