Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y73, Shelf C

Crush Anti-Union Laws

Poster
1971 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ken Sprague is a key figure in British left-wing poster art, an overtly political artist and supporter of the labour movement. Mountain and Molehill - his design partnership with Ray Bernard - transformed Trade Union publicity This poster 'Crush Anti-Union Laws' caused controversy when it appeared in 1971. It shows British Prime Minister Edward Heath being squeezed by a worker's hand. Ken Sprague cut out the eyes from a photograph of Edward Heath and reversed them. It has been described as a precedent for the famous Saatchi & Saatchi 1997 Conservative Party poster of Tony Blair. The drop of blood added to this second version of the poster was seen by some as too violent an image.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCrush Anti-Union Laws (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Lithograph
Brief description
Poster, 'Crush Anti-Union Laws', lithograph designed by Ken Sprague, Great Britain, 1971
Physical description
Political poster entitled 'Crush Anti-Union Laws' showing an image of Ted Heath being crushed in a big hand; lithograph.
Dimensions
  • Height: 764mm
  • Width: 476mm
Marks and inscriptions
CRUSH / ANTI-UNION / LAWS (Text of poster)
Gallery label
This witty use of photo-montage shows prime minister Edward Heath squeezed by a giant worker’s hand. In 1971, Heath’s government passed the Industrial Relations Act to exert greater control over the trade unions. Sprague designed both black and white and colour versions of the poster. Some felt the red drop of blood was too bloodthirsty. A World to Win: Posters of Protest and Revolution, V&A, Galleries 88a and 90, (1 May-2 Nov 2014)(01/05/2014-02/11/2014)
Credit line
Given by John Green
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ken Sprague is a key figure in British left-wing poster art, an overtly political artist and supporter of the labour movement. Mountain and Molehill - his design partnership with Ray Bernard - transformed Trade Union publicity This poster 'Crush Anti-Union Laws' caused controversy when it appeared in 1971. It shows British Prime Minister Edward Heath being squeezed by a worker's hand. Ken Sprague cut out the eyes from a photograph of Edward Heath and reversed them. It has been described as a precedent for the famous Saatchi & Saatchi 1997 Conservative Party poster of Tony Blair. The drop of blood added to this second version of the poster was seen by some as too violent an image.
Collection
Accession number
E.722-2003

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Record createdJune 13, 2005
Record URL
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