Enlarge image
Catalogue information
LastDodo number
5202989
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
The Height of Optimism
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
46 x 44 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1939
Country
Language
Details
Original editorial cartoon drawing in pen and ink and crayon on board, published in the Philadelphia Record late 1939 or early 1940. Shows President Franklin Delano Roosevelt chauffeuring Uncle Sam in a shiny modern limousine representing the New Deal with Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg being overtaken in his old jalopy representing ‘1940 hopes’ of the Republicans. Vandenberg was one of the most effective opponents of the Second New Deal and felt that Roosevelt had usurped the powers of Congress, and he spoke of the dictatorship of Franklin Roosevelt. He was also a popular candidate for the Republican presidential nomination for the 1940 election (which he refused). The cartoonist’s view is that there is very little chance of the GOP ‘salvaging’ much in 1940, especially as war had broken out in Europe and the demand for American goods was beginning to give the US economy, as well as Roosevelt’s popularity, a real boost. Signed lower right, caption lower left in blue crayon. Board size 46 x 44 cm (18 x 17 inch), image size 44.5 x 36 cm. There is a 4 cm tear in the lower centre not affecting the image and a very slight tear at the top, otherwise in very good condition.