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For Freedom's Sake—Buy War Bonds

Artist John Atherton (American, 1900–1952)
Title For Freedom's Sake—Buy War Bonds
Date 1943
Medium Color offset lithograph on paper
Dimensions Sheet: 27 15/16 × 21 7/8 in. (70.9 × 55.5 cm)
Credit Line Gift of Mrs. Allan C. G. Mitchell, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 64.110.26

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About this Work

This propaganda poster for war bonds during World War II played on American patriotism by using imagery associated with the democratic ideals of the American Revolution. The large statue on the left is Daniel Chester French's The Minute Man (1875), the white Neoclassical building on the right is the First Parish Meeting House, and the red building next to it is likely the historic Wright's Tavern (all in Concord, Massachusetts). The building in the far-left distance is the Old North Church in Boston, where Paul Revere raised the alarm that the British were coming by sea. As such, it suggested that Americans should remail vigilant in their support against new foreign foes.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Publisher War Savings Staff (WSS), U.S. Treasury Department
Printer U.S. Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C.)

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"For Freedom's Sake—Buy War Bonds | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=64.110.26