Forgotten History Collection

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Borders by Rini Templeton In the spirit of Rini Templeton’s life and work, activists serving causes that Rini would have supported are invited to use drawings freely in their leaflets, newsletters, banners and picket signs or for similar non-commercial purposes. If you would like to find out more about Rini's art click here.

Hugo Gellert, A Wounded Striker and the Soldier, 1930.  Lithograph, 13 ½ x 12 ? in.

A Wounded Striker and the Soldier by Hugo Gellert Known for his politically charged lithographs of the 1920s and 1930s, Gellert focused on workers issues, racial tension, and fascism.  He published three books. A Wounded Striker and the Soldier is a lithograph that appears in his 1936 book,Aesop Said So.  The text, combined with this image offers the subtitle, The Eagle and the Arrow and these words, An Eagle was mortally wounded by an Arrow. As he turned his head in the agonies of death, he saw that the Arrow was winged with his own feathers. “How much sharper,” said he, “are the wounds made by weapons which we ourselves have supplied.”

Thomas Hart Benton, Strike, 1933/34 (Pohl), 1935 (Ill. ofEd).  Lithograph, 9 ? x 10 ¾ in.

Strike by Thomas Hart Benton Made while working for the  Associated American Artists (AAA), Benton’s Strike is a heroic depiction of mine workers on strike, bravely confronting the faceless militia firing on them.  Strike is based on the drawings Bentondid during the summer of 1928 while touring coal mines in West Virginia. Benton had a long history of sympathy for common workers, and was involved in several leftist political groups until the 1930s.  However, this lithograph is not a simple, compassionate portrait of miners – the figure running away from the conflict on the right side complicates the scene with his cowardliness, and heightens its realism.

Jobless Man - Francis Chapin. 1938 Lithograph, 12 x 8 in.

Jobless Man by Francis Chapin Chapin, an Ohio native, was trained at the Art Institute of Chicago where he became an instructor in lithography. He spent most of his life in Chicago.  His skills as a printmaker are evident in this depiction of an unemployed man killing time over a cup of coffee at a lunch counter, a scene he no doubt witnessed often in Chicago.

Irwin Hoffman, Soup Kitchen, 1934. Lithograph, 8 3/4 x 12 in.

Soup Kitchen by Irwin Hoffman Hoffman devoted much of his artistic efforts to depicting working life in the United States and Latin America. The three men in the foreground of Soup Kitchen are huddled together sipping something warm not only to offset the cold weather but also to buffer the hardships of the Depression.

Lucienne Bloch, Land of Plenty, 1935. Woodcut, 10 5/8 x 8 ¾ in.

Land of Plenty by Lucienne Bloch Bloch created her woodcut, Land of Plenty, the same year she joined the Federal Art Project (FAP).  A comment on the fate of poor farmers, the scene shows a poor, rural family of indeterminate race physically separated from the new electrical innovations and towering corn stalks by a barbed wire fence.  The problem during the Depression was not a lack of food, but a lack of money – city dwellers could not afford to buy food from the farmers, forcing the farmers out of business despite their booming crops.

David Robbins, Antiwar Demonstration, c. 1941 Gelatin silver print:  8 7/8 x 7 3/8 in.

Antiwar Demonstrator by David Robbins The year is 1941 and the world is in a tumultuous state. World War II is raging and the United States is still attempting to remain neutral.  David Robbins’ photograph illustrates the general feeling of American citizens who were not willing to commit to a war while still struggling to overcome the effects of the Great Depression.

Joseph LeBoit, Tranquility, 1936.  Etching and aquatint, 14 x 11 in.

Tranquility by Joseph Leboit LeBoit’s etching is a criticism of his peers: artists who, even in the face of a devastating war, still remain locked up in their studios, creating abstract art.  The refusal to acknowledge the outside world conflicts, LeBoit implies, can only lead to a false sense of tranquility and security.  Not only does the artist’s self inflicted solitude rob his society of his ideas and influences, it will also result in his death once the planes outside the window reach him.

Joe Jones, American Justice, 1933.  Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in.

American Justice by Joe Jones Alternately titled White Justice, Jones’s painting graphically portrays a black woman, raped and lynched by a mob of Klansmen while her house burns in the background.

James Turnbull , Southern Night, 1940.  Lithograph, 11 ½ x 15 in.

James Turnbull, Ride by Terror, 1941.  Oil on masonite, 29 x 33 in.

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