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socialist power. The image’s imposing size is also designed to manifest Mao’s authority. The style closely follows that of a portrait of Mao occasionally hung on the Tiananmen rostrum from May 1950, which showed Mao looking off to the right with a similarly serious expression. The Tiananmen portrait was quickly replaced when critics accused it of making Mao appear aloof and divorced from the concerns of the masses, and subsequent portrait posters strove for a less superior portrayal. Posters, especially those from the early years of the People’s Republic, rarely survive, much less in near-fine condition, making the present example a valuable record of early Communist Party state-building. This poster dates from the genesis of the cult of Mao that would balloon to all-encompassing proportions 15 years later during the Cultural Revolution. In the early 1950s, portraits of Mao and other political leaders were not over-used, being often reserved for key political events and dates. Only with the onset of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 did the Party’s politburo decide to permanently install a portrait of Mao on the Tiananmen rostrum. Viewed from the perspective of the high point of the Mao cult, the present poster
is strikingly modest, devoid of slogans and the bright red colours that dominated the later Maoist cult of personality. A red circular stamp to the lower right verso reads (in translation) “Free copy given by the Editorial and Publishing Office, All-China Federation of Trade Unions”. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions was a key political organization in the early 1950s, helping the Communist Party to exert control over major industries and bring worker movements in line with the government’s interests. In 1950, its Editorial and Publishing Office authored a number of texts published by the Beijing Workers Publishing House, the latter listed on the present poster as one of its authorized distributors. This raises the possibility that the Federation of Trade Unions received a number of free copies from the Workers Publishing House to in turn distribute among partners and affiliates. Colour-lithographic poster (775 × 535 mm), depicting Mao in three-quarter profile looking upwards against a deep red background. Minor creasing, couple of marks to margin with small faint dampstain to lower right, image unaffected, a few nicks, colours bright and sharp. A rare piece of propaganda in near-fine condition. £2,750 [143323]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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