Upcoming Exhibitions

Fighting Fascism: Visual Culture of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

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From New York University’s Tamiment Library Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives

The Abraham Lincoln Archives Collection was started by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) in the late 1970s and is comprised of 10,000 photographs, 200 full color posters, postcards, oral history interviews, biographical materials, radio scripts, and artifacts documenting the life stories of the U.S. volunteers who fought in Spain—including the soldiers, nurses, and doctors who made up the Lincoln Brigade and Medical Bureau.

The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939. Although the majority of Americans remained staunchly isolationist—there were fears about engaging in another war so soon after World War I—approximately 2,800 Americans traveled to Spain to volunteer with the International Brigades. They came to be known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Approximately 18% of these volunteer fighters were from New York and among them were 22 students from New York University. One-third of the volunteers died fighting those who returned faced political persecution. Many went on to fight in World War II and devoted the rest of their lives to activism, working to bring about social justice at home and abroad. In 1975, the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) created the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) with the goal of documenting the efforts they and their comrades had made to uphold democracy in Spain. These archives are part of NYU’s Special Collections, Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives and are the source for nearly all of the material displayed in Fighting Fascism.

Throughout the war, posters, postcards, pamphlets and other visual materials circulated widely. They were issued by the Spanish Republican government and competing political groups that recognized the extraordinary power of images to create cohesion, aid morale, educate, and solicit international support. Included in this exhibition are archival images, political posters, postcards, illustrated books, magazines and other ephemeral materials that were rendered for Spanish and international audiences, providing extraordinary insight into the history of the war including cultural preservation efforts, civilian life, the effects of war on children, life on the frontlines, agriculture & industry, the role of women in the fight, educational efforts, the American response, and the threat of fascism. The tragic events of the Spanish Civil War portended World War II, which began in 1939 less than six months after the victory of General Francisco Franco.

Today, we are surrounded by new forms of political campaign tools that take advantage of digital media. Disinformation campaigns circulate via memes, online bots and trolls and go viral on platforms such as Twitter or Facebook.Fighting Fascism offers viewers the opportunity to reflect upon the power of visual propaganda and the threat of fascism through the lens of current events. 

Fighting Fascism: Visual Culture of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was developed during an undergraduate seminar in New York University’s Department of Art History and is curated by Associate Professor Miriam M. Basilio;, Reference Associate Danielle Nista; and students Alexia Arrizurieta (GAL ‘22), Rachel Gamson, (CAS ‘20), Gabriella Matos (CAS ‘20), Julia Sipowicz (CAS ‘20), and Malaika Shuck (CAS ‘21). The students performed extensive research, selected materials, compiled texts, and designed the exhibition under the guidance of Professor Miriam Basilio, Reference Associate Danielle Nista, and Kimmel Window’s curator Pamela Jean Tinnen.

The inspiration for the exhibition originated from the book Visual Propaganda, Exhibitions, and the Spanish Civil War (Surrey, UK and Burlington, NY: Ashgate, 2013) by Prof. Miriam Basilio.

The exhibition was sponsored by the Office of the Provost along with NYU’s Art in Public Places. Special thanks to the Department of Art History, NYU for their generous academic and institutional support.