A Hoax, The Arts & McCarthyism

Have you seen this?

“…Actual poster from the mid-50’s issued by Senator Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Red Scare and anti communist witch hunt in Washington. All artists were suspect.”

The statement is true in a sense—if you are an evil doer—, but the preamble: “…Actual poster from the mid-50’s issued by Senator Joseph McCarthy…” is not! Yes this is an internet Hoax.

How did this hoax gain the traction that it has? One of several reasons is the legacy of Joseph Raymond “Joe” McCarthy. He was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator. (from 1947-57) He was also the destroyer of lives and in particular, the lives of artists.

Edward R. Murrow, in his famous See It Now broadcast, said of McCarthy:

His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men … We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn’t create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it—and rather successfully.

But, Whose Quote is on the Poster?

Here is a version of the poster which gives us a clue as to the real date of origin for the phrase, as seen here:

But even this is misleading. Queen Alexandrina Victoria (1819 – 1901), of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well as Empress of India was not the author of this quote either.

It was not the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy. Queen Victoria—who would not be amused by inclusion of her in this rogues gallery—is off the hook for this as well.

So who in the hell is responsible for this statement?

The Suspects:

Senator Joseph McCarthy

Queen Victoria

Richard Milhous Nixon

Alright, he’s not a suspect, but he looks guilty of something.

So who Is the Guilty Person, who said it?…was it me, was it you?

My search for the true origins of the statement “Beware of Artists! They mix with all classes of society and are therefore the most dangerous.” has taken me to the far corners of the web, introducing this portrait artist to the lives and interactions of some very unique individuals and websites. What I have found also impressed upon me both the benefits and the tenacious dangers of Google and the internet at large, for artists—but that’s a subject for another blog.

So was this false attribution to McCarthy by design, or was it a simple mistake spreading like a virus. Will the truth be believed and thus inoculate the virus? I think not, but one thing is certain, I will expose the truth. So until next I write, here is a clue.

The quote’s author has the initials L.L.P.M.V.

I will reveal all in my next blog.

~from the easel of
Julian Greigh