Frank Walts (23 March, 1877,

Lima Township, LaGrange County, Indiana Lima Township is one of eleven townships in LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,507 and it contained 1,008 housing units. History Lima Township was established in 1832. John Badlam Howe Mansion, ...

– 21 January 1941,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an American artist who provided illustrations for several radical magazines. Walts has been described as an exemplary

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, particularly as regards his covers for ''

The Masses ''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the United States from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was s ...

'', e.g. his illustration of

Mary Fuller Mary Claire Fuller (October 5, 1888 – December 9, 1973) was an American actress active in both stage and silent films. She also was a screenwriter and had several films produced. An early major star, by 1917 she could no longer gain roles ...

, April 1916. He was on the board of both ''

'' and ''

The Liberator Liberator or The Liberators or ''variation'', may refer to: Literature * ''Liberators'' (novel), a 2009 novel by James Wesley Rawles * ''The Liberators'' (Suvorov book), a 1981 book by Victor Suvorov * ''The Liberators'' (comic book), a Britis ...

'' and subsequently ''

New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...

''. He is noted for his portrayal of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

for ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'' magazine, and his work was critically discussed by such people as

W.E.B. Dubois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

who considered Walts "a thoughtful, clear-eyed artist" and defended him against critics.

Gallery

File:The Masses, April 1916, Frank Walts.jpg, ''The Masses'' (cover), April 1916, A sketch of Mary Fuller, star of ''

The Heart of a Mermaid ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (

Lucius J. Henderson Lucius Junius Henderson (June 8, 1861 – February 18, 1947) was an American silent film Film director, director and actor of the early silent period involved in more than 70 film productions. Biography Born in Aledo, Illinois, Henderson was a c ...

, 1916) File:The Crisis 1919 october Frank Walts.jpg, ''The Crisis'' (cover), October 1919 File:V2n11-dec-1919-liberator-hrcover.jpg, ''The Liberator'' (cover), December 1919

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walts, Frank 1877 births 1941 deaths