New V&A book on the art of the poster and some favorite examples

Ann Shafer

Posters. According to Charles Anderson, an American graphic designer, posters are “art with a purpose, to communicate, announce, promote, or inform.” This is the opening line of a book on posters from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection just published. It lays out a compelling social history and is worth reading (Gil Saunders and Margaret Timmers, The Poster: A Visual History. London: V&A/Thames & Hudson, 2020). It is chock-a-block full of great images from across the spectrum: British, French, American, Russian, war, leisure, entertainment, products, travel.

You may not know that I am also a graphic designer. What can I say, it’s one of my creative outlets. Yes, I’ve gotten paid for my work, but mostly I do it for friends and family. I really love the graphic sensibility of a great poster. Out of more than one hundred images in the V&A’s book, I selected several to share that resonate with my sense of design. You’ll notice that I’m drawn to highly reductive imagery. Forms are simplified and reduced to essentials, colors are bold, and there are few words. Swiss designer Armin Hofmann summed up a poster’s strength as based on: “size, clarity, simplicity.” I have always felt that less is more in advertising and I find myself constantly critiquing logos on trucks and billboards as I drive around town. Since you have to catch someone’s attention really quickly, too much visual information overwhelms and becomes illegible. See if you agree with my choices.

Posters fell under my responsibility at the museum; they are stored with the rest of the print collection. Like the BMA, some museums collect and keep posters in the same manner as other works on paper. Some museums have them set apart from the regular stuff in a sort of “study collection.” And some museums don’t collect them at all believing they aren’t art. Why? Their commercial function as advertisements creates a divide between them and fine art. But they are designed by artists (aka graphic designers). They are printed on presses like fine art prints. So what gives? It’s a strange bias that has always fascinated me. The BMA has some great posters, particularly by Toulouse-Lautrec and other nineteenth-century artists. They are difficult to handle. Often large and fragile, they are usually printed on crappy paper—they were meant to be temporary after all. But they carry such great impact and are instructive for historians and artists alike. And I do love them.

Julius Klinger (Austrian, 1876–1942)
Zoologischer Garten, c. 1910
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.614–1915

Edward McKnight Kauffer (British, 1890–1954)
Soaring to Success! Daily Herald—The Early Bird, 1919
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.35–1973

Henry Sajous (French)
S.I.C.C.E.A. Bicycles, 1920s
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.320–2018

Charles Paine (British, 1895–1967)
Boat Race, 1921
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.261–1981

Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie-Mouron, French, 1901–1968)
Nord Express, 1927
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.223–1935

Peter Irwin Brown (British, 1903–1988)
There is Sunshine in the South, 1930
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.340–1932

Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie-Mouron, French, 1901–1968)
Normandie, 1935
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.648–2017

Lester Beall (British, 1903–1969)
Light, 1937
Color screenprint
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.265–2005

Theyre Lee-Elliott (British, 1903–1988)
British Airways. Paris & Scandinavia. As the Crow Flies—Only Faster!, c. 1937–38
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.1372–1979

Jean Carlu (American, born France, 1900–1997)
Give ‘Em Both Barrels, 1941
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.2916–1980

Abram Games (British, 1914–1996)
Men who mean business read The Financial Times every day, c. 1951
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.156–1980

Reginald Mount (British, 1906–1979) and Eileen Evans (British, born 1921)
Little scraps of information can add up to a whale of a lot…and the net is wide! Keep our secrets secret, 1960
Color lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.450–1995

Tomoko Miho (American, 1931–2012)
65 bridges to new york, 1968
Color offset lithograph and screenprint
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.420–1973

John Bainbridge (British, 1918–1978)
SS France Campagnie Générale Transatlantique: Le Havre New York, c. 1968
Color offset lithograph
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.250–1981

​Alan Kitching (British, born 1940)
Taxi! For the London Poster Project, 2009
Color screenprint
Victoria and Albert Museum, E.397–2011

Julius Klinger (Austrian, 1876–1942). Zoologischer Garten, c. 1910. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.614–1915.

Edward McKnight Kauffer (British, 1890–1954). Soaring to Success! Daily Herald—The Early Bird, 1919. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.35–1973,

Henry Sajous (French). S.I.C.C.E.A. Bicycles, 1920s. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.320–2018.

Charles Paine (British, 1895–1967). Boat Race, 1921. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.261–1981.

Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie-Mouron, French, 1901–1968). Nord Express, 1927. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.223–1935.

Peter Irwin Brown (British, 1903–1988). There is Sunshine in the South, 1930. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.340–1932.

Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie-Mouron, French, 1901–1968). Normandie, 1935. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.648–2017.

Lester Beall (British, 1903–1969). Light, 1937. Color screenprint Victoria and Albert Museum, E.265–2005.

Theyre Lee-Elliott (British, 1903–1988). British Airways. Paris & Scandinavia. As the Crow Flies—Only Faster!, c. 1937–38. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.1372–1979.

Jean Carlu (American, born France, 1900–1997). Give ‘Em Both Barrels, 1941. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.2916–1980.

Abram Games (British, 1914–1996). Men who mean business read The Financial Times every day, c. 1951. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.156–1980.

Reginald Mount (British, 1906–1979) and Eileen Evans (British, born 1921). Little scraps of information can add up to a whale of a lot…and the net is wide! Keep our secrets secret, 1960. Color lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.450–1995.

John Bainbridge (British, 1918–1978). SS France Campagnie Générale Transatlantique: Le Havre New York, c. 1968. Color offset lithograph. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.250–1981.

Tomoko Miho (American, 1931–2012). 65 bridges to new york, 1968. Color offset lithograph and screenprint. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.420–1973.

​Alan Kitching (British, born 1940). Taxi! For the London Poster Project, 2009. Color screenprint. Victoria and Albert Museum, E.397–2011.