The enormous scope of WWI demanded a tremendous financial investment, which explains why the bulk of the posters in this collection solicit donations from a wide range of audiences to a variety of organizations in support of the war effort. George Creel, director of the United States Committee on Public Information, enlisted many of the nation’s top artists to advertise the sale of Liberty Bonds. Likewise, the American Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations turned to the visual medium of posters to expand their membership and national influence. Posters became a favored means of promoting the war because of their ability to communicate quickly and emotionally. It is clear from the examples below that propagandists, with varying degrees of success, experimented with the visual medium, refining techniques that would be used to sell war to the public for decades to come.
WWI Propaganda Posters
