Richard Correll and the Woodcut Graphics of the Voice of Action

Voice of Action woodcut illustration, artist unknown The art of woodcuts dates back to the ancient civilizations of China and Egypt. It didn't become popular in the West until the 14th century where is was used as a means of designing and decorating textiles throughout Europe. Even from the earliest of times, the raw power and beauty of this technique easily lent itself to political or religious imagery. The middle of the 19th century saw a new form of publication born - the illustrated newspaper - and the woodcut found another fitting way to use its inherent power by gracing the pages of many different papers.

The technique involves having the artist draw his image in reverse on the face of a wood block. Then the block would be turned over to engravers who would then cut out the design. This allowed for the drastic and striking contrast between light and dark that is at the heart of the eloquence and power of this type of art. Woodcuts largely disappeared from 20th century mainstream newspapers, but at the Voice of Action, Seattle's Communist Party newspaper, they enjoyed a new burst of popularity and influence.

One of the most talented woodcut artists to grace the pages of the Voice of Action was Richard V. Correll (1904-1990). He was born in Missouri, but for most of his life he lived on the West Coast, except for a period in the 1940s when he lived in New York City and was employed as a book illustrator and ad designer.
Voice of Action woodcut illustration by Richard Correll. Click image to see collection of Correll woodcuts. In 1933, his woodcuts began to appear in the weekly Voice of Action.

Correll was not the only woodcut artist to contribute to the newspaper. The "Together We Stand" block above was cut by different hands. Indeed the Voice of Action woodcuts became so popular that Correll and perhaps other artists began teaching classes in the art form, advertising them in the weekly newspaper.

Correll's blocks are distinguished from those of his fellow artists by the bold use of white space and sharp lines. They were also highly detailed as in his "This is the model city" block that depicted a cabal of top-hatted "employers" redesigning Seattle under martial law to break unions and maintain the "open shop." He used his talent to illustrate complex scenes and comment on issues and events covered by the radical newspaper.

For more see Leslie Correll, Richard V. Correll Prints and Drawings (Oakland: Correll Studios).

In one of its final issues, Voice of Action reprinted these highlights of Correll's art:

More images

Below are further examples of Correll's art followed by woodcuts by other artists. All appeared in the Voice of Action 1933-1936. Click in the thumbnails for a larger image. Here is our full collection of woodcuts from the Voice of Action and Sunday News.

Richard Correll woodcuts:

"Call out the Vigilantees"	"Stop the anti-miscegnation bill"	"Make Seattle a 100% union town"	"Capitalist Press Goes into Action"	"Production for Use"
'Lumber Strike'	'Coal Diggers'	'Divide & Rule'	'Plenty of Dough'	'The Frandsen Case'

'Bloody Thursday'

'1934 Maritime Strike'

'Gentlemen of Leisure'

'World Wide Strikes'

"Facist Soup for America"

Correll also illustrated the 1936 Northwest Labor Calendar published by the Voice of Action. The individual pages below can be enlarged or click the link above for the full calendar in pdf format.

Woodcuts from the Voice of Action that can't be attributed to a specific artist: