Libertad de Cultos: Una de Las Cuatro Libertades Por Las Que Luchan Los Aliados; Libres de Miseria: Una de Las Cuatro Libertades Por Las Que Luchan Los Aliado; Libertad de Palabra: Una de Las Cuatro Libertades Por Las Que Luchan Los Aliados [Three Posters]

Washington DC: El Coordinador de Asuntos Interamericanos, 1942. Poster. Good. A suite of three WWII posters, 14" x 20". Each poster has been mounted to a thin card board. With some creasing, and occasional small losses from the edges. The largest loss is from the top right corner of the "palabra" poster, measuring 4" x 3". The posters also have a general layer of light glue-staining.

Three American WWII posters depicting the themes of Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom of Speech. These posters were meant to highlight Franklin D. Roosevelt's four freedoms (here three), and to sway Latin American opinion against Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The Spanish text at the foot of each poster reads: "One of the 4 liberties for which the allies fight." Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954) was an American artist and graphic designer who worked mostly in the realm of poster art. He was born in Montana, however he moved to England and became an expatriate. He was very influential in Europe, however he was only known in the United States by a handful of those well versed in the study of design. Interestingly, despite his obscurity in America, in 1937 the Museum of Modern Art gave him a prestigious one-man show. At the time of the exhibition, copy agents were continuing the tradition of using posters with romantic imagery, and only a few designers were able to gain any attention from breaking free of this type of imagery. Still remaining in obscurity, Kauffer returned to England, only returning to New York City after the war broke out in 1940. He only received honors in the United States posthumously, when he finally received an AIGA award.

Russian born American artist Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) was most known for holding the art director's position at Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine during the years of 1934-1958. Like Kauffer, Brodovitch played a significant role in introducing the United States to a substantially simplified modern design, already popular in Europe. While at Harper's, Brodovitch used art created by Man Ray, Salvador Dali, and A.M. Cassandre. Brodovitch received an AIGA award in 1987.

Three boldly modern posters created by two artists who helped pioneer the modern poster in the United States, with its symbolic imagery and social relevance.