1942.04.13 “Light in the Blackout”
by Ralph Lee (1906-1947)
23 x 14 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Ralph Lee was an editorial cartoonist for the Portland Oregonian. He died suddenly, at 41, in January 1947. His cousin, Art Bimrose, was the editorial cartoonist for the Oregonian for more than three decades. In 1937, the Oregonian hired him part-time to work on printing plates. Following Lee’s death, Bimrose was hired as the Sunday editorial cartoonist.
The map labeled “Greater East Asia” refers to Japan’s imperial claim: Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. And by early 1942, this “sphere” had become a reality, with rapid Japanese conquests across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including the fall of key Allied positions.
The single torch in the Philippines was a point of resistance and hope, even following the fall of Bataan, on April 9, when Japanese expansionism seems unstoppable. When you can’t point to military success, you point to endurance and principle.
