PROPAGANDA.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Portfolio of artworks celebrating the appointment of Hua Guofeng as Mao's successor and the arrest of his political enemies. First edition, reproducing the 151 artworks selected for a spring 1977 exhibition held in Beijing to much fanfare. Mao's death in September 1976 precipitated a power struggle, the faction led by Hua Guofeng eventually prevailing over a radical clique led by Jiang Qing, Mao's wife.The artworks include landscapes, oil paintings, woodblocks, sculptures, propaganda posters, and other media. Organizers selected works by both leading artists, such as Liu Wenxi, and grassroots representatives of the masses. The most widely publicized exhibit was With You in Charge, I am at Ease (Ni ban shi, wo fang xin), an oil painting by Peng Bin and Jin Shangyi that shows Mao symbolically, and fictitiously, handing over the reins of power to an attentive Hua Guofeng, the latter sporting a Mao badge on his breast. One of a number of paintings on the theme to appear in the immediate aftermath of Hua's taking power, the picture was put on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. Other exhibits depict Mao and Zhou Enlai, revolutionary models, and scenes of a politically and socially harmonious society.The publisher released issues for domestic and international distribution. This example is identified as the international issue in the printed colophon.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.