Hugo Gellert
American, born Hungary, 1892 - 1985Primary Accumulation 10 (Portrait of Tom Mooney), 1933
Not on view
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions22 1/2 × 15 3/4 in. (57.2 × 40 cm)
Image: 13 × 13 1/2 in. (33 × 34.3 cm)
Gift of Mr. Jack B. Pierson, 1986.108
Hungary born Hugo Gellert immigrated to the United States in 1906. Gellert returned to Europe in 1914 and witnessed the outbreak of WWI. His experiences there shaped his political views. Upon returning to the United States he became a staunch supporter of civil liberties. Gellert founded and participated in many leftist organizations including the John Reed Club and American Artist’s Congress. Gellert also contributed to leftist and Marxist publications and advocated for artists’ interests and welfare. After being investigated and nearly deported by the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Gellert turned his efforts to defending other activist artists.
The face that stares out from the prison bars belongs to Tom Mooney. Born into a socialist family, Mooney grew up studying socialism. Later he became a union organizer and activist joining the Socialist Party of America, the Industrial Workers of the World, and leading the California Federation of Labor. In 1916 Mooney along with four others were charged with the death of ten people at the Preparedness Day Parade in San Francisco. Mooney was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The outcome of the trial resulted in protests and demonstrations that lasted on and off for twenty years. His sentence was eventually changed from death to life in prison, but in 1939, after serving 22 years, he was pardoned by the governor of California.
