1942.11.04 "Are You Listening?" by Lucius Curtis (Lute) Pease, Jr.

1942.11.04 “Are You Listening?”
by Lucius Curtis “Lute” Pease, Jr. (1869 -1963)
15 x 19.5 in., crayon and ink on board
Coppola Collection

Pease was a cartoonist for the Newark Evening News from 1914 to 1954 and received the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. He was a miner in Alaska for 5 years before beginning a career in art. He was an illustrator for the Oregonian and famously interviewed Mark Twain. From his retirement in 1954 until his death in 1963, he devoted himself to fostering his skills as a painter of portraits and landscapes.

The 1942 Midterms (November 1942) were the first national election post-Pearl Harbor. Despite millions serving overseas, only ~28 million Americans voted from an eligible population of about 80 million, signaling a decline in civic participation.

New York Times (11/3/1942): “War casts shadow over midterm polls—citizen interest dimmed.” Editorials emphasized: “Those on the home front must carry the torch of democracy” … especially while soldiers fight.