Chris Calle (American, B. 1961) "VJ-Day Victory At Last" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the United States Victory at Last Minisheet issued September 2, 1945.

On July 17, 1945, in Potsdam, Germany, U.S. President Harry Truman, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the rebuilding of a devastated Europe. Though the European war had ended, the conflict with Japan continued. After a luncheon on July 24, Truman turned to Stalin's interpreter and said, "tell the Generalissimo that we have perfected a very powerful explosive which we are going to use against the Japanese and we think will end the war." Truman was referring to the first atomic bomb. Made from uranium, "Little Boy" was 10 feet long, 28 inches thick and weighed 9,000 pounds when assembled. At 8:15 a.m., on August 6, 1945, "Little Boy" dropped from the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay toward its target, Hiroshima. Truman issued a statement to the Japanese that warned, "The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed upon those that brought war to the Far East. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." Japan did not reply. True to his threat, on August 9, Truman ordered "Fat Man", the second A-bomb, to be dropped on Nagasaki. That evening, Emperor Hirohito told his country that surrender was inevitable. By the morning of August 10, all of Hirohito's cabinet members had signed statements accepting the surrender, although the formal papers would not be signed until September 2.

Image Size: 14.75 x 12 in.
Overall Size: 23 x 18 in.
Unframed.
(B15186)

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