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Description paper

Will You save French women: Save Wheat, a poster made by artist Edward Penfield, was originally created in 1918 on a 93x 143 cm printed color lithograph poster.

Edward Penfield uses the shades of yellow, black and white with perfect harmony, perfection and precision to bring out the visual and figures of three women pulling a cropping machine. The streaks of black, brown, and white at the background appear like water running down the entrance of the cave. the three figures are rendered in a layer of transparent resin that is poured over that textured surface to bring about a rocky ground. The painting is a colored poster printed on appears, and the picture seems to have been cut in half before the encapsulation. The poster is also in a fragile state and has multiple tears.

The three women in the poster seem to be pulling a cropping machine on a rocky ground and from the look on their faces, it’s apparent that they are struggling to pull the machines and they also seem to be fatigued. The women are in a close contact with each other, no eye contact and they create a sense of group by sharing many things, they are about the same height, wear similar long robes, and are in open shoes. Despite the differences in their clothing designs, the coloring of their head scarf is almost similar with polka dots which significantly create a strong vertical rhythm throughout the composition. Their disproportionately large hands pulling the heavy machine which depicts the heaviness and the struggle each is putting in plowing the field. The three women are pulling the machine to fight against starvation and to feed their families including their sons and husbands who are described as fighting in digging the trenches.

Born in New York, Edward Penfield is a prominent figure in the graphic design with early mentorship in artistry. Raised in a famous art colony among actors, writers, and artists, Penfield developed his unique skill styles of simplified figures with bold outlines in settings free of extraneous detail. Among the works of Edward Penfield is the described Save Wheat artwork which was created during the period of food shortage and labor crisis in America. The artwork helped make the United States the most prolific producer of war related posters during the war. Regarding improvements, Edward Penfield artwork utilizes the modern improvements of printing colored images which are far much appealing and aesthetically engaging for the compelling portrayal of relevant information.

Edward Penfield’s artwork is a remarkable composition with profound features of colors, layouts, topography and with a history to recount. Viewing the image for the first time is thought to provoke by making the viewer take a keen look to apprehend the meaning of the artwork. However, regarding color, the artist had to use many colors in a painting about women and farming. On that regard, a repainting of the same images with more appealing colors related to agriculture which perhaps would bring out the clear understanding of the title “Save wheat.”

Bibliography

Garcia, Julie. "Beginning to see the light: posters in social and political revolutions." PhD diss., The George Washington University, 2015.

Hardie, Martin, and Arthur K. Sabin. War Posters: The Historical Role of Wartime Poster Art 1914-1919. Courier Dover Publications, 2016.

Joseph, Michael. "Howard Pyle: Imagining An American School of Art by Jill P. May, Robert E. May." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 39, no. 1 (2014): 158-163

Smith, Skylar. Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words: The Depiction of Women in World War One American Propaganda Posters. Dartmouth College, 2015.

Edward Penfield (1866-1925)

Will you help the women of France?

Save Wheat, c.1918