About this work
At the heart of this 1918 poster is a young boy perched on a windowsill, carefully placing a Red Cross emblem on the glass pane before him. It is a quiet, unheroic gesture — and that is precisely its power. Smith's signature style of innocence and emotional depth shines through in the delicate depiction of the boy, the adorned window, and the serene winter backdrop.
The vibrant red and white cross emblem on the service flag functions as the focal point of the composition, drawing the eye while the surrounding palette stays soft and warm — entirely in keeping with the holiday mood Smith was asked to invoke. The work was executed as a color offset lithograph and measures 28 by 21 inches in its original poster form.
Published in Boston by Forbes in 1918, the poster was created for the American Red Cross's annual membership drive. The title is a direct reference to the flags that the Red Cross provided to members through its annual Roll Call campaign around the holidays,
given to members as a token of thanks to be displayed in their windows at home.
The image appeared in both the 1918 *Red Cross Magazine* and the Atlantic Division Newsletter.
The American Red Cross had experienced tremendous growth as a national humanitarian organization following the United States' entry into the First World War in April 1917, and the campaign harnessed that momentum at a moment of peak national emotion — the war had only just ended. The choice of Smith was natural: no American illustrator of the era conveyed the moral authority of children with more conviction, and the Red Cross understood that a child's simple act of loyalty could say what no soldier's portrait could.
This is a work that earns its place on a wall precisely because it doesn't shout. It suits a study, a library, or a hallway with good natural light — anywhere that rewards a second look. The poster is held in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a testament to its standing as both fine illustration and significant Americana. It speaks to collectors drawn to the intersection of social history and craft — those who appreciate that wartime imagery need not be strident to be moving. The mood it sets is resolute and tender at once: a reminder that the most enduring acts of solidarity are often domestic, personal, and small.
