TUSCUMBIA, Ala. … As part of an exhibit on posters from both World Wars, the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art will host a Veterans Day program on “The Art of War: Posters, Photographs and Postcards of World War I.”
Marty Olliff Associate Professor of History Troy University
Marty Olliff, associate professor of history at Troy University, will give the program at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11, at the museum, 511 N. Water St., Tuscumbia. Admission is free. The presentation is through the Alabama Humanities Foundation’s Road Scholars Speakers Bureau program.
Olliff received his doctorate. in U.S. history from Auburn University in 1998. He was assistant university archivist at Auburn from 1996 until 2002 when he became the founding director of the Archives of Wiregrass History and Culture and a member of the history department at Troy University, Dothan Campus. Although Oliff has published numerous articles concerning American chefs, his principal research interests are in Progressive-Era Alabama. He was the editor of “The Great War in the Heart of Dixie: Alabama in World War I”, published by the University of Alabama Press in 2008. His most recent work concerns the Good Roads Movement in Alabama during the first two decades of the 20th century.
The museum exhibit features World War I & II Axis and Allied posters from the collection of Peter Morris, of Leighton.
Morris’ love of history and interest in the role of print propaganda inspired his collection. He’s particularly fascinated with nationally known artists during World War I and major magazine illustrators during World War II who designed posters for bond drives and material conservation.
“It’s remarkable how persuasive these well-drawn illustrations were and how they swayed the hearts and minds of the general population,” Morris said. “The millions raised by bond drives and Europe’s submission to the influence of Germany’s twisted cross show how important printed propaganda was.”
Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 1-3 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $5 adults, $3 students, museum members free, Sundays free and group rates available. For details, call 256.383.0533 or visit tvaa.net.
