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Maker(s):Bernstein, Theresa Ferber
Culture:American (1890 - 2002)
Title:Armistice Day Parade: The Altar of Liberty
Date Made:1919
Type:Painting
Materials:oil on linen
Place Made:United States; New York State; New York City
Measurements:stretcher: 30 in x 40 in; 76.2 cm x 101.6 cm
Narrative Inscription:  signature and date in black oil at lower right: T. BERNSTEIN 19
Accession Number:  SC 2015.42
Credit Line:Purchased with the Kathleen Compton Sherrerd, class of 1954, Acquisition Fund for American Art
Museum Collection:  Smith College Museum of Art
2015_42.jpg

Description:
city square teeming with people watching a military parage in front of large stone monument, bare park trees behind them with tall buildings on the opposite side

Label Text:
The end of World War I was declared in 1918 on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:00 am, when the United States, its Allies, and Germany ceased fighting. One year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 as the first Armistice Day to honor “the heroism of those who died in the country’s service.”

Theresa Bernstein witnessed the 1918 Armistice Day parade on Fifth Avenue in New York, to which she dedicated a series of paintings. She also described the event in her journal: “People were happy. They hugged each other and said, ‘Peace, Peace. It’s Wonderful.’”

At the center of her painting is Thomas Hasting’s Altar of Liberty. This temporary structure was erected to promote the 4th Liberty Loan, a US government campaign to sell war bonds in support of the allied cause. This painting does not reflect the artist’s political sentiment toward the war, but instead celebrates the pageantry of the occasion.

Tags:
exterior; urban; men; women; costume; politics; uniforms; music; parades; military

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+2015.42

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