Paul-Albert Besnard (1849-1934), Souscrivez pour Hâter la Paix par la Victoire (Subscribe to Hasten Peace through Victory). Poster for the Third Loan of the National Defence. Paris: Maquet Gr., 1917. Lithograph. Graphic Arts French prints
During the First World War, the French government solicited funds from its people through National Defense Loans. Both the second and the third appeal, 1916 and 1917, were led by lithographic posters designed by Albert Besnard. As a decorative artist, Besnard worked on a large scale, creating frescoes at the Sorbonne, the Ecole de Pharmacie, the Salle des Sciences at the Hotel de Ville, and the ceiling of the Comédie-Francaise, among others.
At the time that Besnard designed these posters, he was the director of the École des Beaux Arts and one of the most sought after artists of the day. Two years later, he was one of the artists chosen to participate in the National Exhibition of French art held in the United States.
