Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

Herrenvolk

A work made of woodcut on cream wove paper.

Image actions

  • A work made of woodcut on cream wove paper.

Date:

1942/3

Artist:

Joseph LeBoit
American, 1907-2002

About this artwork

Trained at the Art Students League under Thomas Hart Benton, Joseph LeBoit was a productive member of the silkscreen unit of the New York Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Art Project. As an active member of Artists for Victory, he organized war-themed exhibitions to boost morale at home. This series of five prints features horrific images of Europe during World War II, including a family huddled in the bombed-out remains of a house, a scene of a murdered mother and child, and a Nazi soldier stealing a loaf of bread, a chicken, and two piglets from a forlorn mother and children, leaving them alive but destitute. In all cases, the Nazis—the Herrenvolk, or “Master Race”—are depicted ironically: a nation of louts, looters, and murderers.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Joseph LeBoit

Title

Herrenvolk

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1942–1943

Medium

Woodcut on cream wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 46.1 × 35.1 cm (18 3/16 × 13 7/8 in.); Sheet, sight: 47.9 × 37 cm (18 7/8 × 14 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mollie LeBoit

Reference Number

2007.318

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share