John Doe, Easy Dollars. New Canaan, 1949.

SZYK, Arthur. John Doe, Easy Dollars. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk. New Canaan, 1949.” Pen and pencil on card. Sheet size: 7 x 4 7/8″. Image size: 5 1/2″ x 4″. Very Good condition.

A cowboy in the background rests his elbow on his knee; to his left are written the words “John Doe, Easy Dollars.” In the foreground stands John Bull (England) in a reflective moment. He holds a newspaper whose front page announces “Taft Opposes the North Atlantic Treaty, the Americans want some of their money for their own use!” At the bottom of the illustration is the message “That Taft is a Bolshevik.”

After World War II, the political status of Great Britain diminished on the world stage, and the establishment of NATO offered the country an opportunity to reassert its power. Senator Robert A. Taft, a Midwest conservative, was a political figure of note — he sought a nomination for the presidential election in 1940, 1948, and 1952 — and his stance on many issues would have roused Szyk’s ire, just as it did Great Britain’s.

He was staunchly non-interventionist during World War II and objected to nearly all attempts to assist countries that fought Germany until the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Additionally, Taft did not support the Nuremberg Trials. Furthermore, he saw NATO to be more likely to antagonize the Soviets (and increase hostilities), rather than be a means by which Western European countries could resist Soviet incursions. John Bull reads Taft’s position to be one that supports the Communists, hence “That Taft is a Bolshevik.”

Publication History: The Compass, 28 August 1949, p. 13.