From 1816 onwards, British peace campaigners used a variety of art, artefacts and spectacle to advertise their aims and indicate their presence. This historical review examines issues surrounding the production and display of visual peace propaganda by national and local organizations, and by individual members including artists. The focus is on the period 1900 to1940, although earlier and later material is included. Many of the themes and issues are still current today. The aims of this research were diverse and therefore this thesis adopts a variety of approaches, drawn from peace history, art history and ephemera studies. The perspective wherever possible is that of the campaigners themselves, including perceived successes and failures. Aesthetic qualities and iconography are also addressed however, particularly when examining the work of professional artists. Chapter 1 uncovers the history of Quaker peace posters produced for national and local use, including the images and messages on them, how they were displayed, and by whom_ Chapters 2 and 3 analyse issues surrounding the indoor and outdoor campaigning of the lively peace movement of the 1930s, which from the middle of the decade was centred on the Peace Pledge Union. Examples of governmental, public and private censorship appear, arising from such diverse activities as wearing a white poppy or displaying a peace poster. Included are descriptions of peace shops, amateur and professional peace exhibitions, poster parades and the work of selected cartoonists. Chapters 4 and 5 examine the peace images and organizational involvement of two artists of national importance whose lives spanned the period covered. Joseph E.Southall, a Quaker tempera artist, was involved with socialism. Eric Gill, sculptor, engraver and typographer, helped to found Pax, the first organization for Catholic pacifists, and was on Peace Pledge Union national committees. The Conclusion states that the majority of campaigning activities took place at local rather than national level. Designs and images were produced by both amateur and trained artists and were therefore of varying quality. There was a preferred avoidance of war images — yet difficulty in establishing an iconography of peace, at a time when the use of allegorical personifications was declining. Volume 2 contains approximately five hundred illustrations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:249642 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Glover, Margaret |
| Publisher | University of Reading |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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