Emotions on paper

Appreciating Canadian wartime propaganda posters

It’s always exciting when a wartime propaganda poster comes to auction, especially considering the emotional impact these artistic creations were meant to have. Wartime posters didn’t have the luxury of subtlety – they needed to convey both a message and an emotion to prompt immediate action.

This was especially true for Canadian wartime propaganda posters. With bold colours and striking scenes, these posters tapped into basic human emotions to motivate citizens to contribute significantly to the war effort. And these efforts paid off. Propaganda posters had such a profound impact on societal opinions that their influence is still evident today. This makes them highly collectible and appreciable as an art form in their own right.

Some of the emotions these posters were designed to evoke can be found in examples coming up in Miller & Miller Auction’s Canadiana, Advertising and Historic Objects sale on June 16th.

Patriotism

A common theme in propaganda posters is patriotism, but the way it’s stirred can vary widely. Lot 304, for example, features the proud British lion storming off to fight. However, with Canada’s stronger national identity after the Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917), the National War Service chose a well-motivated beaver as a Canadian icon to join the fight. To ensure the viewer doesn’t miss the point, the beaver wears a sash labeled ‘Canada’ as he leans into the war effort.

Establishing Canadian identity meant establishing shared Canadian goals. These posters regularly used patriotism as a means to achieve that and in many examples it’s evident how the public weighed the imagery most associated with ‘being Canadian’. Some of that symbolism has survived to the present day and shapes how Canadians view themselves.

Fear

When in doubt, many posters use fear to motivate action. Lot 36 displays two possible futures for Canadian citizens. The first, depicted in blood red, portrays a world of imprisonment and despair, with leg shackles so realistic the clanking chains can almost be heard. The colour red implies harshness and violence, almost an attack on visual senses.

In contrast, the calming blue option presents a simple purchase of Canadian Victory Bonds. While it may harm your pocketbook, it’s portrayed as a much better fate than the alternative. Interestingly, the bond certificate offers a low 3% return, well below the 5% prime rate at the time, subtly reminding viewers that it’s still better than the grim alternative.

Guilt

In both World Wars, Canadians were expected to do their part, whether through active participation or by adjusting their home life. Friends and neighbors would enforce societal pressure, making public embarrassment and guilt strong motivators.

In this example (lot 154), guilt takes the form of a couple hoarding food, despite rationing. In other words, a ‘good Canadian’ wouldn’t keep food to themselves and these people should feel terrible even if, at present, they’re hidden from the view of the law.

The food bags are also marked “Hoarded,” which the modern eye might find a bit comical. The offending couple has even posted a sign in their own home showing penalties for such behavior. While it’s easy to enjoy these nuances now, people in wartime faced serious social and legal consequences if caught. It was up to the artist to drive home the message through emotions.

Appreciating wartime propaganda posters involves identifying the emotions they invoke. The artists aimed to elicit those emotions through imagery, colours and messages. Each poster in Miller & Miller’s upcoming auction has its own emotional impact waiting to be appreciated.