LEWISTON, Idaho – The “WWI & WWII Pride and Propaganda”poster exhibit will open at the Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts & History, located at 415 Main Street, on Thursday, May 19, at 4:30 p.m. The exhibit features the private collection of James and Sheron Givan and will be on display until July 16.
The collector’s lecture “Posters, as the Means of Mass Communication” will be given by James Givan at 6 p.m. on opening day.
The Givan’s private collection of original military posters began in the 1950s and represents each military service with an emphasis on the U.S. Marine Corps. The collection includes over 1,000 posters, 500 of which are conserved and linen mounted, while another 200 are framed. Subject matter of the collection includes recruiting, conservation efforts, productivity incentive, war bond initiatives, pure propaganda, and security information.
The collectors say their hope is that the posters will encourage the observer to become interested in the history of epic conflicts that help define America in the 20th century. Poster art represented the communication art form comparable to television today.
The collection has been on exhibit throughout the Pacific Northwest including at the Yakima Museum (Yakima, Wash.), Tamastklikt Cultural Institute (Pendleton, Wash.), and the Washington Historical Society Museum of History (Tacoma, Wash.).
The exhibit is brought to the Center for Arts & History by sponsorship from Tri-State Memorial Hospital & Medical Campus and Vista Outdoor CCI Speer, and through grants from U.S. Bancorp, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., the gallery features free admission but donations are welcome. For more information about the exhibitions or to schedule a docent tour, visit www.lcsc.edu/cah or call 208-792-2243.