The Masses was an American socialist periodical published from 1911 to 1917. John French Sloan, the art director, established a design system of vivid two-color covers with heavy black crayon drawings. February 1916. Cover by Frank Walts, an African-American illustrator of whom not much is known. A short biography of Walts appears in Art For The Masses by Rebecca Zurier (Yale University Art Gallery, 1985).January 1916. Cover by Frank Walts.January 1916. Cover by Frank Walts.January 1916. Cover by Frank Walts.November 1917. Cover illustration by Cornelia Barns.July 1917. Cover by Carlo Leonetti.September 1917. Cover by Carlo Leonetti.November 1916. Cover by Hugo Gellert.