The Algerian Woman by Henri Matisse, 1909. Algeria had long been a colony of France and this represents the eroticism associated with non-European women.
Postcard from the 1910s, artist unknown. From the Walker Evans Archive. Note the optimism and futurism prior to the Great War and the focus on new technologies.
Wings was a silent film released in 1927. It won the very first Academy Award. Combining cutting edge cinematography of bi-plane dogfights and the public infatuation with aviation due to Charles Lindbergh's recent feats, it was an early smash hit.
All Quiet on the Western Front, published in 1929, was a frank account of the First World War from the perspective of the average German foot soldier. Written by Erich Maria Remarque, the novel was translated into 25 languages and made into a popular film the following year.
Guernica, by Pablo Picasso, 1937. Inspired by the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.
Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath details the troubles of the fictional Joad family as they escape the terrors of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and travel cross country in hopes of finding menial agricultural work in California during the Great Depression.
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted this self portrait to express her longing to return to her native land after having spent so much time in the US creating commissioned murals in the 1930s. The comparison she makes between the two countries is stark.
Mussolini's HQ in Rome. Note the domineering face of fascism and the use of futurism.
Norman Rockwell's interpretation of FDR's Four Freedoms as outlined in his 1941 State of the Union Address.
Soviet WWII Memorial at Tiergarten, Berlin. 1945. In honor of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Battle for Berlin. The black marble at the base is from Hitler's desk.
Published in 1945, Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism. The author George Orwell was a socialist and was very critical of Stalin.
This multiple award winning Broadway musical was first staged in 1949. Based on the interactions of sailors, nurses, natives and French plantation owners, it spawned the hit song "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair."
The US Marine Corp War Memorial in Arlington, VA was dedicated in 1954. The monument depicts American soldiers atop Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific during the Second World War. The artist was Felix de Weldon.
Seven Samurai by acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa was released in 1954. It remains one of the most influential films of all time. Historically speaking, it is important to note Japanese cinema celebrating indigenous culture just three years after the end of US occupation.
Winston Churchill portrait sculpture with the artist, Oscar Nemon. He made multiple versions of Churchill placed in many parts of the world.
WWII French partisan by Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, entitled CRAK!
Superpowers by Roman Cieslewicz. This appeared in the French leftist art magazine Opus International in 1968.
Pop-Art treatment to a portrait of Charmain Mao by Andy Warhol, 1972.
Sweet Life No. 1, by acclaimed Chinese artist Zhu Wei.
This portrait of Ronald Reagan by Robbie Conal was done in 1988 and references the Iran-Contra affair.
Chess was a musical stage production based on the Cold War propaganda chess rivalry between the US and the USSR. It played in the US and Great Britain in the mid 1980s and spawned the hit song One Night In Bangkok.
This statue of Gandhi stands in New York City. Gandhi is a beloved figure in many parts of the world and such statues have been and continue to be erected in public parks and in front of municipal and educational buildings.
Released in 1993, Schindler's List won 7 Academy Awards. It has become the preeminent film regarding the Holocaust.