Oct 15, 2014 | Poster of the Day
A Touch of the French Riviera!
This vibrant scene of the Riviera coast, created in a style reminiscent of Matisse, is the work of a Russian artist who left for France after the Russian Revolution. Terechkovitch was trained in the acclaimed School of Art, Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow and immediately felt comfortable in the Russian ex-patriot community in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris.
There he became friendly with Chaim Soutine, an Expressionist painter close to Modigliani, and Mikhail Larionov and his wife Natalia Goncharova, avant-garde Russian artists. After WWII Terechkovitch moved to Menton on the French Riviera.
The main characteristic of Terechkovitch’s work is stunning color, as is abundantly clear in this sun-dappled poster of his wife on a seaside porch. Beautifully printed in 1960 by Mourlot, the leading fine art printer in Paris, it is in perfect condition.
View more more French Travel posters here!
Oct 10, 2014 | Poster of the Day
The Gallery is alive with Campari!
This new discovery is irresistible, playful, charming, seductive, hip, fresh and stylish, all rolled in one. You think Audrey Hepburn, Donald Draper & friends, La Dolce Vita and Twiggy. The long green stockinged legs, the stylish shoes, the tip of the cap to both modern art and hieroglyphics in the painted almond shaped eye…it is unbearably clever and fun…just what an ad should be.
Campari soda was first produced in 1930 and became the first pre-mixed drink sold world-wide. Its famous bottle was designed by none other than Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero and described as an upside down goblet. Surrealist fashion illustrator Franz Marangolo created an image that would position it solidly in the minds of a new generation: “It runs (keeps up) with the times (corre col tempo!)” His superb ads for the Fiat 500 and 600 were equally successful.
This handsome Object Poster by Mingozzi smartly plays on this theme, focusing only on the bottle and its interplay with a goblet in front of it. No tagline is necessary.
View more Campari Posters here!
Nov 22, 2012 | Poster of the Day
Artist Unknown, "Let Us Be Thankful!" (Mather Work Incentive), 1929
Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving from Interntional Poster Gallery!
| View all Mather Work Incentive posters here. |
Oct 28, 2012 | Poster of the Day
Fritz Buhler, Merrent, circa 1964
The liberation of fashion in the early Sixties is clear in this vibrant poster by leading Swiss poster artist Fritz Buhler. His poster for a Basel clothier’s 40th anniversary is emphatic in announcing a new age of bold patterns and technicolor tones, a rich symphony of shapes and color that would go fully psychedelic three years later during the Summer of Love. But for now, the grace and elegance of Jackie Kennedy is still strongly present, making this a true Mad Men “Swinging Sixties” fashion statement. The color is not to be believed!
The Merrent has quickly become a staff favorite and is currently on display in the gallery’s Mid-Century Modern exhibit: Global Persuasion
Oct 16, 2012 | Poster of the Day
D. Ambrose, Vespa - Ca c'est formidable, c. 1955
In 1955, the high-energy French actor and singer Gilbert Becaud released the hit song titled C’est Formidable! (That’s Great!). It was a perfect marketing opportunity for Vespa to create a hip poster campaign. The poster shows the singer nimbly mounting the scooter as if it were a skateboard (a recently minted pastime itself, at the publication of this poster). The background was equally hip, with Vespa’s patented pastel colors in asymmetrical, intersecting shapes that echo Mid-Century furniture design. Fantastique!
Vespa, or Wasp in English, was named in 1946 for its narrow waist, high-pitched engine and antenna-like handlebar. The product was perfectly suited for the war-torn country, where consumer budgets and poor roads made larger vehicles impractical.
In 1952, the vehicle’s popularity skyrocketed when Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck teamed up on a Vespa in Roman Holiday. By 1956, 1 million Vespas had been sold. The Vespa survives today as one of the most fun products on two wheels.
This poster is available in two sizes.
Oct 13, 2012 | Poster of the Day
This stunning poster, a classic of the International Typographic, or Swiss Style, was selected as a Swiss Poster of the Year award winner in 1963. Strongly relying on typographic elements, the “Swiss Style” was refined in the ’50s and ’60s at two design schools, one in Basel led by Armin Hofmann and the other in Zurich under Josef Muller-Brockmann. Both had studied at the Zurich School of Design before WWII, where they absorbed the modernist principles of the Bauhaus and Jan Tschichold’s New Typography.
Hofmann’s posters express a graphic purity rarely seen in any medium. Restricting his palette to primarily black and white (and sometimes a third color), Hofmann used a mathematical grid to provide a unified and orderly structure. Hand illustration disappeared, replaced by black and white studio photography, while traditional typefaces were replaced by clean and straightforward sans serif styles. His poster for the opera William Tell is remarkable for its modern yet tension filled treatment that uses type to portray the arrow that whizzes toward the precariously balanced apple.
While collected by art and design museums throughout the world, Hofmann’s posters remain surprisingly affordable – with prices starting at just a few hundred dollars. To view the Gallery’s extensive collection of his work, click here.
