Page 236 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013

434
434 ● (MILITARY—WORLD WAR I.) Home-made, reverse-painted soldier’s
“uplift” souvenir. 171⁄2 x 141⁄
2 inches; with the stars and stripes; to the center left, a rectan-
gular inset with a photograph of a black soldier in full uniform, holding his rifle “at arms.”
In the original hand-painted frame, no doubt created when the piece was made; the paper,
backing the painting is the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin for November 11, 1918, the day
the War ended. [Philadelphia], 1918 [800/1,200]
An extraordinary example of the type of home-made “uplift” souvenir that would have hung
over the mantle in an African American home. The quality of the painting and the photograph
of the proud black trooper make a striking statement.
433
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