From the exhibition
Charles Dana Gibson, Council of National Defense
Unknown author Unknown author or not provided · 1917–1918

This is not a cartoon plate but a formal photographic portrait, catalog number 165-WW 135 82, identified in the mount's printed label as Charles Dana Gibson, Council National Defense. Gibson—creator of the iconic 'Gibson Girl' and editor of *Life* magazine from 1918—served as chairman of the Division of Pictorial Publicity under the Council of National Defense, marshaling American illustrators for the war effort. The photograph shows a bald, heavyset man in a dark suit with white French cuffs, hands clasped, gazing directly at the camera with calm authority. No caption, no caricature, no satirical argument: this is a government administrative record documenting Gibson's wartime civic role, not a work of graphic humor.
Unknown author Unknown author or not provided Public domain