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  RARE SUFFRAGETTE POSTER, DESIGNED BY SPANISH-AMERICAN ARTIST F. LUIS MORA FOR THE EMPIRE STATE (NEW YORK) CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, ORGANIZED BY CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, 1915

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 45.25" x 26.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 36.75" x 17.5"
Description....:
RARE SUFFRAGETTE POSTER, DESIGNED BY SPANISH-AMERICAN ARTIST F. LUIS MORA FOR THE EMPIRE STATE (NEW YORK) CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, ORGANIZED BY CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, 1915:

This very rare and boldly graphic poster, with its Art Nouveau sensibility, was designed by Spanish-American artist F. Luis Mora (1874-1940) for the Empire State Campaign Committee, led by the famous suffragette, Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947).

Born in Wisconsin, Catt attended Iowa State College and joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association in 1887. She soon became an officer and in 1890 became a delegate to the newly formed National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), of which Susan B. Anthony was president. Catt became a driving force almost immediately, speaking at the 1890 NASWA annual meeting, and in 1892 was asked by Anthony to address Congress on the proposed woman’s suffrage amendment.

Catt was chosen as head of field organizing for the NAWSA and in 1900 was elected to succeed Anthony as president. She served for 4 years, resigning in order that she may care for her dying husband. In 1904 she founded the International Woman Suffrage Organization, serving as its president until 1923 and afterwards, until her death, as its honorary president. In 1915 she was reelected as president of the NASWA and served until 1920, when victory was had in the United States and the 19th amendment passed. Success came on the coattails of the U.K., where women obtained voting rights in 1918.

Leading up to 1920, Catt's leadership the suffrage movement focused on success in at least one eastern state, because previous to 1917, only western territories and states had granted women suffrage. Catt felt that state decisions were critical to success on the national level. In 1915, when this poster was printed, a huge push was made and the issue came to vote in New York. On November 2nd of that year, male voters defeated a referendum that would have amended the U.S. Constitution to give all women of the state the right to vote. New York was among four eastern states where the issue came to a vote, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. It was unsuccessful in all four states.

Public support for the issue had been favorable in New York in that year, where the Suffrage movement was 100,000 members strong. Polls had predicted the likeliness of a win, and while it did not occur that year, Catt led a successful follow-up campaign in 1917 and New York became the first eastern state to adopt suffrage.

Dubbed "America's First Hispanic Master," F. Luis Mora (1874-1940) was an influential portraitist, muralist, illustrator and teacher whose Impressionist works gained renown not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and his native South America. Among the numerous prominent museums in which his paintings now reside are the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Mora's initials, "F.L.M.," appear at lower left. Period documentation of this poster was documented in the Madrid Herald, which published an article that read: "The art committee...has been presented with a beautiful poster by a notable artist, F. Luis Mora, whose studio is in New York City. The work of the art committee of the woman suffrage cause is now one of the most important departments of ways and means for spreading abroad the message of suffrage, as well as for lending the cardinal note to the propaganda and also for raising money...This latest poster expresses in power...The colors are blue and golden tan, and the figure is that of a modern winged victory risen out of the pedestal of progress and bearing aloft a scroll on which are the figures '1915.'"

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Bert Padell (legendary financial advisor to the stars).

Mounting: The work is displayed a gilded French molding with an early American profile, to which a black, ripple-profile molding with gold highlights was added as a liner. An ivory white mat with a gold painted pinstripe border keeps the textile away from the glazing, which is U.V. protective glass.

Condition: There is some foxing and staining, accompanied by various cracking and losses around the perimeter in the white border, most of which are located around the narrow perimeter that is covered by the mat. These do not affect the central image area. The most significant loss is visible in the lower left-hand corner. The poster presents beautifully and the great rarity well-warrants the condition.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type:
Star Count:
Earliest Date of Origin: 1915
Latest Date of Origin: 1915
State/Affiliation: New York
War Association:
Price: SOLD
 

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