Flag Raising

Kyra Markham (1891-1967)
Flag Raising on Leroy St.
Lithograph, 1942
Prints & Photographs Division
Gift of Ben and Beatrice Goldstein
Foundation, 1999 (73.7)

During World War II, Kyra Markham and many other artists in the United States contributed to the war effort by creating images that stirred patriotic sentiments and feelings of contentment toward life in America. Born Elaine Hyman, Markham quit high school at age sixteen to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1916 she joined the Provincetown Players theatrical troupe in Massachusetts and supplemented her acting income by painting murals and working as an illustrator. In 1930 Markham studied at the Arts Students League in New York, later enrolling in the New Deal-sponsored Federal Arts Project.