Original WWII poster — 1943 "Americans will always fight for liberty"

Makes a direct link between the Revolutionary War and the fight against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). In this image, a column of American GIs marches past a ragged line of Continental Army soldiers at Valley Forge, over whom General George Washington’s Headquarters Flag waves.

Artist Bernard Perlin (1918-2014), the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, used American soldiers as models for the painting from which this poster was produced. A larger version of the poster hung in Union Station in Washington, D.C., during the Second World War. 

The poster is conservation mounted, linen backed, and in excellent condition, with no rips or tears, minimal folds, and vibrant colors.

Source: Museum of the American Revolution

Size: 28" x 40"

About the artist

Perlin was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1918 to Davis and Anna Schireff Perlin. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia, and his father died when Perlin was 10 years old. Perlin grew up with two older sisters, Mildred and Jeanette.

At the encouragement of a high school teacher, he was enrolled in the New York School of Design.He studied there from 1934 to 1936, the National Academy of Design with Leon Kroll in 1937, and then the Arts Student League with Isabel Bishop, William Palmer, and Harry Sternberg until 1940.

In 1938, he was awarded the Kosciusko Foundation Award to study in Poland.