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Rendered in a classical style, the central figure evokes both religious iconography and patriotic motherhood. A monumental maternal figure, robed and serene, cradles a wounded boy with a crutch in one arm while resting her other hand gently on the shoulders of an aged man and a supplicant woman. Behind her, a large red cross stands out as the sole element in vivid color, anchoring the message with the symbol of the humanitarian cause.
The image reinterprets Foringer’s earlier wartime composition—also titled “The Greatest Mother in the World”—which depicted a nurse as Madonna-like, cradling a wounded soldier on a stretcher. In this postwar version, the theme is extended to include all those in need of care: the young, the old, the infirm. The scale of the mother figure elevates the Red Cross as a towering, almost divine source of mercy and protection, reinforcing the organization's message of universal aid in the war’s aftermath.
This poster was produced for the Fourth Annual Roll Call of the Red Cross, a membership drive held each November to recruit civilian support in the postwar recovery period. The language of the title, “Still the Greatest Mother in the World,” reaffirms the enduring role of the Red Cross beyond the battlefield.
The Fourth Annual Roll Call was from November 11 (Armistice Day) to Thanksgiving Day, 1920.
![[ First World War ] The Greatest Mother in the World](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/98179.jpg)
