Children's Crusade for Children fundraising collection can
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Diameter: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm)
Creator(s)
- Norman Rockwell (Artist)
- Children's Crusade for Children (Distributor)
Biographical History
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) was born in New York City, New York. He studied art at The New York School of Art, The National Academy of Design and The Art Students League. While still a teenager, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications. Throughout his career Rockwell created covers for The Saturday Evening Post. In 1930, he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and they had three sons. In 1939, Rockwell and his family moved to Arlington, Vermont. In 1943, he painted the Four Freedoms, a series of four paintings based on a speech by President Franklin Roosevelt. The paintings toured the United States in a traveling exhibition and through the sale of war bonds, raised over $130 million for the war effort.
Archival History
The collection can was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection. The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.
Funding Note: The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by the Crown Family.
Scope and Content
Metal fundraising collection can used by the Children’s Crusade for Children. The Children’s Crusade for Children was a penny sharing relief program with the purpose of providing assistance to the war stricken children of Europe. The program was organized during the winter of 1939-1940 under the leadership of Marion G. Canby and Dorothy Canfield Fisher. The program was supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and special tin collection cans were decorated with artwork designed by Norman Rockwell and distributed to schools around the country. The children were instructed to give as many pennies as they were years old. The principal or a delegated student would then retrieve the money from the can and mail it to a collection center in Kansas or Vermont, depending on the school’s location. The crusade had two purposes: to make American children aware of the blessings of living in a democratic country, and to give these children an opportunity to express their sympathy for the plight of war-stricken children in other lands. The nationwide collection ran from April 23 to April 30 1940.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Cylindrical, metal, gold colored tin collection can with an image and text printed directly on the metal sides. The top and bottom have smooth flat surfaces with a raised outer lip. The top has a narrow slot with an impressed edge in the center. The print on the round sides is divided into three sections. The front has an image of a schoolboy in shorts and a red vest, white shirt and knee high socks standing and facing forward with school books at his feet, reaching into his pocket for loose change. Behind him, three children are walking to the left. The child in front carries a sack in her hand, the middle child is tall and wrapped in a white blanket, and the child behind her is the smallest and has a bag slung over his shoulder. Two lines of white text are at the top of the image and a line of black text is in a white rectangular box at the bottom. The artist’s signature is in the lower right corner in red. The next panel has a beige colored background with a word in red at the top followed by 27 lines of black and red text. There is a short black horizontal line in the center that divides the text. The last panel has a beige background with 12 lines of black and red text. The surface of the can has scratches throughout. There is dirt and debris inside the can.
People
- Rockwell, Norman, 1894-1978.
- Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.
Subjects
- War relief--Europe--History--20th century.
- Children.
- Children -- Humanitarian assistance -- Associations, institutions, etc
- Charities--United States--History--20th century.
- United States.
Genre
- Containers
- Object
- Collection boxes (fundraising equipment)