Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat, 1933 by Mort Künstler

Mort Künstler
1931- | American

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat, 1933

Signed and dated '© MKünstler '85' (lower right); Signed and dated '© MKünstler '15' (lower left)
Gouache on paper laid down on board

"Together, we cannot fail." These were the words spoken by President Franklin Roosevelt as he concluded his very first fireside chat on March 12, 1933. Roosevelt, the only president in history to be elected to four consecutive terms, became a voice of hope for a struggling nation, first through the Great Depression of the 1930s and then through the Second World War. His renowned fireside chats, a series of 30 intimate speeches broadcast across the nation, brought comfort and renewed confidence to millions of Americans during these times of crisis. The historic moment of his first speech is captured here by the celebrated American artist Mort Künstler.

Born in 1931, Künstler studied art at Brooklyn College, UCLA and Pratt Institute. Upon his graduation, he began his career as a freelance artist in New York, where he earned a reputation as a talented illustrator. He won commissions to illustrate several Classics Illustrated titles, as well as several magazines and movie posters. It was in the 1980s that he shifted the focus of his art to American history, which has become the work for which he is most renowned. His evocative works, such as the present piece, perfectly illustrate integral parts of the American story, making them highly prized among collectors of Americana and fine art alike.

This work is illustrated on the cover of Mort Künstler’s Epic Events in American History: Commemorative First Day Issue, Unicover: Fleetwood Division, 1986. 

Circa 1985

Board: 13 3/4” high x 15” wide
Frame: 23” high x 24 1/2” wide

Provenance:
 Unicover Corporation, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1986
Private Collection, New York City, 2013, acquired from the above
M.S. Rau, New Orleans, 2015
Private collection
M.S. Rau, New Orleans