This poster encourages women to enlist in the SPARS, the Women’s Reserve Corps of the U.S. Coast Guard, named after the Guard’s motto “Semper Paratus—Always Ready.” It was established on November 23, 1943, and like the other women’s service organizations during World War II, it was intended to free up men for active military service. Women were to take on administrative, medical, and other non-combat roles in their place, mostly within the United States. The artist Charles Andres trained at the Art Students League and the Grand Central School of Art in New York, and worked as an illustrator, before enlisting in the Navy during World War II. He was ultimately assigned to illustrate covers for Sea Power magazine and recruitment posters like this one, in his traditional, figurative style.
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