Walter Whitehead (1874-1956) American, Framed 1918 Liberty Bonds Poster. Depicts an American soldier with rifle standing over a dead German soldier. Signed and dated 1918 middle right. Reads "Come On! buy more LIBERTY BONDS." The Act of Congress which authorized the Liberty Bonds is still used today as the authority under which all U.S. Treasury bonds are issued, and introduced the idea of government-assured financial securities to many citizens for the first time. Framed.

Overall Size: 30 1/4 x 20 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 29 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. 

#1 #3574 . 

Walter Whitehead was born in 1874 in Chicago, Illinois. As a youth he demonstrated a knack for mathematics, but his first love quickly became painting. He studied at the Art Institute before joining the Howard Pyle School of Art in 1901. While at Pyle’s school, Whitehead helped him by managing the art supplies which Pyle sold to his pupils at cost. His duties included not only stocking and dispensing the art supplies but balancing the accounts at the end of the month. Whitehead then attended the Chadds Ford art summer school in Pennsylvania in 1902, and worked freelance for the Saturday Evening Post, with several of his realistic colonial figural paintings adorning the covers in the early 1900s. In 1905 he accepted an offer to teach at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, but moved to New York in 1907 to work freelance once more for various magazines, including Judge. He was quickly recognized for his analytical skills as much as his artwork, and became an advertising executive at the Ben Hampton Agency. He met illustrator and industrial designer Walter Teague and hired him, taking him with him to the larger firm of Calkins & Holden in 1908, and was instrumental in the rise of the young entrepreneur. When World War I broke out American commercial art was still in its early stages, and most artists were classically trained painters. Whitehead nurtured dozens of artists, and produced several posters for the war himself, but left his position with Calkins & Holden in 1919 to move to Virginia to be closer to his wife’s family. He spent most of the rest of his life in obscurity, occasionally contributing original portraits and paintings to charitable organizations and the Virginia State Police Woodson Memorial Gallery. He passed away in 1956.

Small stains in upper left corner and along left side. Minor spotting.