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Hearst Over the People

1939
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
The archconservative newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst was notorious for his xenophobia, vehement criticism of the New Deal, and support of Hitler and Benito Mussolini. In this photomontage, first published in the influential left-wing magazine New Masses, Morgan transforms Hearst’s grinning face into the body of an octopus—a symbol of corporate greed and corruption. Giant tentacles slither over a crowd of workers in a compelling evocation of the many-armed monster of Hearst’s sensationalist news empire.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hearst Over the People
  • Artist: Barbara Morgan (American, 1900–1992)
  • Date: 1939
  • Medium: Collage of gelatin silver prints with applied media
  • Dimensions: Image: 38.7 x 48.9 cm (15 1/4 x 19 1/4 in.)
    Frame: 68.6 x 76.2 cm (27 x 30 in.)
  • Classification: Collages
  • Credit Line: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc. (2005.27.4059)
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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