100 Objects from Century of the Child

Herbert Matter. One of Them Had Polio, Skilled Teamwork Brought Recovery. 1949-50

The fight against polio, a terrifying disease that before the development of a vaccine in 1955 crippled thousands of once active, healthy children, was the theme of a poster competition initiated by MoMA in 1949, cosponsored with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Twenty-three artists were briefed with medical information and asked to come up with designs and slogans to raise awareness of new treatments becoming available. Matter’s winning entry, with figures of a running girl and boy (his son Alex who had suffered from polio), epitomized a newfound sense of freedom that allowed the once afflicted child to be just like the other child.

Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild