Stolzer, Rob :: Reinhardt, Ad

Ad Reinhardt - 1938 New Masses Cartoon Featuring Frank Hague

Artist: Ad Reinhardt (All)

3 Comments - 2,324 Views - 1 Like

Ad Reinhardt - 1938 New Masses Cartoon Featuring Frank Hague Comic Art

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Additional Images:

Ad Reinhardt Cartoon - Before and After Conservation

New Masses - February 22, 1938 - Two-Page Spread

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Artwork Details

Title:	Ad Reinhardt - 1938 New Masses Cartoon Featuring Frank Hague
Artist:	Ad Reinhardt (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	2,324
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	9/7/2018
Comic Art Archive:

Description

I had previously added this Ad Reinhardt ink editorial cartoon to my CAF last month, but decided to remove it from the Political Cartoon gallery and give it its own space. A few things have happened since I originally posted the cartoon: 1) I had the piece conserved, as it was in rough condition; 2) I found out exactly where and when it was published!; and 3) I've been able to properly research its background. Here goes:

The piece had been badly dampened at some time, causing some terrible rippling in the surface paper to go along with the discoloration. Gordon Christman, paper conservator extraordinaire, was able to lay his magic hands on the piece and do justice to it.

As I had originally thought, the piece is from 1938. With major thanks to Marty Goldman, who is painstakingly scanning and archiving years and years of the New Masses, we discovered that this artwork originally appeared in the February 22, 1938 issue of the New Masses. The cartoon was a part of a double-page spread featuring the work of seven cartoonists, all in support of the C.I.O.�s benefit show at a theater in Newark, New Jersey. The text that accompanied the artwork is:

Down with Hague!

The cartoons on these pages are the artists� contributions to the C.I.O.�s benefit show at the Mosque Theater in Newark, N.J., Sunday night, February 20. The originals are to be sold that evening. Forty-five congressmen, educators, ministers, and business and professional people have sponsored the affair. Heywood Broun, who was accused by a Hague cop of exclaiming �Nuts!� during an oration by the Jersey dictator a month ago, will serve jointly with Will Geer as the master of ceremonies. The demonstration on Sunday marks the beginning of the C.I.O.�s drive for 15,000 new members in Jersey City.

Will Geer was a left-wing activist in the 1930s, who later found acclaim on stage, screen, and TV. He played "Bear Claw" in the movie Jeremiah Johnson, and later won an Emmy for his role as Grandpa Walton on The Waltons.

Artists whose work appear on the spread are Ned Hilton, A. Ajay, Scott Johnston, Ad Reinhardt, George Price, Haile Hendrix, and Gardner Rea.

The C.I.O. (Congress of Industrial Organizations) was a powerful federation of unions created by John L. Lewis in 1935. The C.I.O. was original a part of the A.F.L., but broke away in the late 1930s, later to rejoin forces in 1955, becoming the AFL-CIO.

The Hague being referred to in the cartoons and text is Frank Hague (1876-1956), who was the Mayor of Jersey City, NJ for 30 years, and a Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee for 25 years, from 1924 to 1949. Hague was considered "the granddaddy of Jersey bosses� and was a major player in shaping national Democratic politics. He was also known for wide-spread corruption, and the time he left office in 1947, he enjoyed palatial homes, European vacations, and a private suite at the Plaza Hotel. His wealth has been estimated to have been over $10 million at the time of his death, although his City salary never exceeded $8,500 per year and he had no other legitimate source of income.

Hague was an early supporter of labor unions, but by the 1930s, they had become fierce foes. The rise of the C.I.O. represented a major threat to Hague�s support of sweatshop-type industries, whose owners might otherwise have fled Jersey City�s high property taxes. At one point, the Socialist Presidential candidate, Norman Thomas, came to speak at a C.I.O. rally in Jersey City, and Hague had the police sweep Thomas and wife up, putting them on a ferry back to New York.

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About the Owner

	Rob Stolzer Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	September 2004
Last Login:	September 2025
Ebay Id:	robart
Website:	https://freeassociationfunnies.com/
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Rob's Classifieds Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF Read More About RobStolzer

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Comments on this Artwork

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Mark N.
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 9/7/2018

Bravo, Rob! And great research too...

CHRIS OLIVERIA
Member Since 2011

1 - Posted on 9/13/2018

Nice to have an Ad Reinhardt cartoon! More know as a fine artist, but he did do some pretty great cartooning. This, to me has a bit of a George Grosz influenced look to it.....really nice! Congratulations

Bernard Voorzichtig
Member Since 2012

Posted on 3/30/2019

Great cartoon, great information !

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