Collections record Beta

Poster - Toby Moffett for Senate

1982-08-3

Political poster - white background. Across top in red letters "Respect Human Dignity" and at bottom "Toby Moffett for Senate" Image in center of black woman holding a red and white polka dot kerchief in one hand. A small child is in bottom left hand corner. Images made using simple drawn lines and overlapping blocks of color - white, blue, black, grey. Framed under glass with simple wood (natural) frame.

Created for Toby Moffett's unsuccessful campaign for Senate in 1982. Moffett, a Democrat and native of Farmington, served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983 as a member from Connecticut's 6th congressional district. Moffett founded the Connecticut Citizen Action Group in 1970 alongside politician and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. His social circle included residents of Litchfield, including Rufus and Leslie Stillman. Moffett worked with four different artists to create posters for his 1974 and 1982 campaigns.

Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was born in North Carolina and educated in Pennsylvania, Boston, New York (New York University, Art Students League), and Paris (Sorbonne). Bearden served in numerous roles on student publications, including lead cartoonist and art editor for The Medley at NYU. From the 1930s to the 1960s, Bearden worked as a social worker during the day, and practiced his art at night and on weekends. He joined the Harlem Artists Guild, received his first solo exhibit in 1940, and was appointed as the first art director of the Harlem Cultural Council in 1964. Bearden's collages, prints, watercolors, oil paintings, and photomontages reflected his experiences of African American life, including the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Great Migration. His career frequently combined art with political and social activism. He was a founder of the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Cinque Gallery (which supported young minority artists), and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

• Bearden, Romare, 1911-1988

1982

45" high x 26" wide

• tempera
• paper