The Death of Truth
late 1930s
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph in black on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 267 x 400 mm sheet: 290 x 420 mm
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Accession Number
2008.115.2529
Art Historical Context
In the late 1930s, as the shadows of World War II loomed and authoritarian regimes suppressed free speech worldwide, American printmaker Carl Hoeckner created *The Death of Truth*, a stark lithograph in black ink on wove paper (image: 267 x 400 mm). Hoeckner, a German-born artist who immigrated to the U.S was a vocal critic of fascism through his dramatic, socially conscious prints. This work, now in the National Gallery Art's Reba and Dave Williams Collection embodies the era's urgent plea against propaganda and censorship. Lithography, Hoeckner's favored medium, allowed for bold contrasts a...