“The revolutionary posters were everywhere, flaming from the walls in clean reds and blues that made the few remaining advertisements look like daubs of mud,” wrote George Orwell in Homage to Catalonia, his classic first-person account of the Spanish Civil War. Brought back by American volunteers — who, like Orwell, fought on the Republican side against Generalissimo Francisco Franco — the posters on this page are part of an exhibition titled “Shouts from the Wall: Posters and Photographs from the Spanish Civil War,” which is being shown at the Arthur Ross Gallery through October 4. They are the work of named and anonymous artists, produced by governmental and left-wing organizations that were united in their opposition to fascism — if in little else.
“This visual evidence of a searing and instructive chapter of twentieth-century history was assembled by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive at Brandeis University,” notes Dr. Dilys Winegrad, the gallery’s curator. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of this “struggle of opposing ideologies, in which youthful idealism played so large a part.
“While some deal with the war,” she adds, “a few exhort to revolution; all present clear evidence of the power of propaganda and the strength of the ideals and ideologies that inspired them. The range and quality of the works, reflecting a variety of contemporary styles, makes them a milestone in graphic art.”
An exhibition of pertinent books and documents has been organized in the Kamin Gallery of Van Pelt Library, and a program of discussion, film, and related literature is being offered by the Kelly Writers House and the College House Programs.
