The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988 by David and Zelda Silberman.
Bernard Perlin (1918-2014) was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Jewish parents, Davis and Anna Perlin. Bernard studied at the New York School of Design, National Academy of Design Art School, and the Art Students League in New York. In the late 1930s, he received the Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship for study in Poland. Before going to Poland, Bernard spent time traveling through Europe, where he personally witnessed, Nazi discrimination of Jews in Germany. Once he returned to the United States, he received commissions from the Works Progress Administration for a mural for the South Orange, New Jersey Post Office, and another from the U.S. Maritime Commission for murals for the SS President Hayes. When the United States entered World War II, Bernard was barred from the military because he was openly homosexual. However, he was able to work for the Graphics Division of the Office of War Information (OWI), and designed several propaganda posters for the war effort. Later, he worked as a war correspondent for “Life” and “Fortune” magazines, serving time with commando forces in occupied Greece, and later in the South Pacific and Asia. Bernard was also aboard the USS Missouri for the official Japanese surrender in September 1945, and then remained in Asia for a time, to document the war's aftermath in Japan and China. After the war, Bernard lived both in the United States and abroad. He worked as an illustrator for Harper’s, Collier’s, and Fortune magazines, and continued to paint throughout his life. Bernard’s works are featured in prestigious institutions such as: the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Oxford, the Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art, and several other private collections and institutions worldwide.
Color offset lithographic poster reproducing a painting of a soldier, in a tan uniform with rolled up sleeves and green helmet, leaning back, arms outstretched, preparing to throw a grenade. Black waves of smoke and barbed wire cover the light blue sky. The artist name and the date are printed in the image and there is text across the top and bottom.
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overall: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 20.000 inches (50.8 cm)
Poster for the 4th War Loan campaign with a soldier preparing to throw a hand grenade. The campaign for the 4th War Loan subscription took place from January 18 - February 15, 1944. The Treasury Department issued posters to encourage the public to buy war bonds. There were 8 war loan drives conducted from 1942 to 1945 and by the end of the war 85 million Americans had purchased 185.7 billion dollars of bonds. Bernard Perlin who created the painting used in this poster later became a war artist correspondent for Life and Fortune magazines, and went to combat zones in Greece, the South Pacific, and Asia.
US 4th War Loan poster with a soldier throwing a grenade