Jul 16, 2016 | Gallery News
Bermuda – 5 Hours by Air PAA by Adolph Treidler (1937)
International Poster Gallery proudly presents “Summer Getaway! 22nd Annual Summer Poster Show,” including more than 50 original vintage travel and leisure posters from near and far, plus a new discovery of 30 rarely-seen airline posters. This exhibition runs from July 5 – September 5, 2016.
Inspiring wanderlust in the viewer, our travel posters cover locations from Bermuda to Norway and joyously highlight the different aspects of travel. The late Thirties headliner, Bermuda – 5 Hours by Air – PAA by Adolph Treidler pictures a handsome young couple heading out on their bicycles under a star-filled sky. Overhead, a Pan Am flying boat is silhouetted by a full moon.
In contrast to the calm, enchanted world depicted by Treidler, David Klein captures the excitement and energy of the Hollywood Bowl in his vibrant Los Angeles – Fly TWA poster:
Los Angeles – Fly TWA by David Klein (circa 1959)
Next up in the exhibition are summer sport posters, including Otto von Hanno’s charming 1930s Summer in Norway poster of sail boats playing cat and mouse amongst the fjords and the 1936 Art Deco Australia Surf Club by Gert Sellheim. Von Hanno and Sellheim instill their posters with a sense of adventure and beauty.
Summer in Norway by Otto von Hanno (circa 1930)
Australia Surf Club by Gert Sellheim (1936)
The show concludes with psychedelic Rock & Roll posters from the Fillmore Auditorium and beautiful post-war jazz festival posters from Willisau, Switzerland. Posters took on a psychedelic edge in the 1960s when artist Wes Wilson, departing from the neat, functional typography of the 1950s, turned to bubble lettering and bright, clashing colors to advertise rock concerts in the Bay Area. Billy Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium became the proving ground for a pulsating drug-induced style of poster art.
The exhibition includes this Rick Griffin/Victor Moscoso rarity for a Jimi Hendrix concert at the Winterland. It unabashedly blends Egyptian iconography, Gothic lettering and comic book graphics into a playfully surrealistic vision.
Jimi Hendrix at Winterland by Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso (1968)
“As always, our 22nd Summer Show is full of fun combined with great design. The energy of Mid-Century Modernism is front and center,” states Gallery owner Jim Lapides, a nationally recognized authority on vintage posters and poster collecting. “Many of these are avidly sought by museums today and are still very affordable to beginning collectors.”
View more posters from the exhibition on our website.
Mar 7, 2015 | Gallery News
International Poster Gallery proudly presents “Affordable Classics: Posters for the New Collector”, a show and sale of 50 original vintage posters under $2500 that reveal why the field remains one of the best for newcomers. The show features fine examples from several styles, subjects and eras to indicate the incredible breadth of opportunities for any budding collector or home decorator. Highly accessible, beautifully printed and designed by world-leading artists, advertising posters have more than a 30 year track record of appreciation.
Join us on Tuesday, March 24 from 6-8pm at 205 Newbury Street for our New Collectors Night. Gallery owner Jim Lapides will present a talk on poster art and the do’s and dont’s of collecting.
View more pieces from the upcoming show here:
Mar 15, 2014 | Gallery News
Most people are surprised to learn that there are more 20th century poster masterpieces from Switzerland than any other country. There are many reasons: an international tradition which absorbed and often mimicked the best of its neighbors; a vigorous national program to promote the poster and its printers; and a series of great teachers who advanced the art of the poster.
The Swiss poster had its roots in the travel poster as Switzerland became a popular travel destination at the turn of the century. Characteristic Swiss poster styles are the Sachplakat, or Object Poster, as well as the International Typographic Style which became the predominant graphic design style in the world from the Fifties into the Seventies and continues to exert its influence today.
Influential by Design: The Swiss Poster’s Impact on the Modern World explores Swiss design’s leadership in creating a graphic vocabulary for the complex, global realities of modern society. The exhibition begins with a backdrop of early Swiss posters, including ski, travel, transportation and product posters by leading Swiss poster designers Otto Baumberger, Emil Cardinaux, Herbert Leupin, and Niklaus Stoecklin.
The show then focuses on the remarkable flowering of Swiss graphic design in the Fifties – a new style heavily reliant on typography to create a universal language of design. Simple, clear and harmonious, it would become the leading language of the increasingly global postwar marketplace, from institutions and international exhibitions to packaging and traffic design.
As part of Boston Design Week, International Poster Gallery is hosting an event on March 26 in collaboration with swissnex Boston, including a gallery tour with Chris Pullman, artist, designer, poster collector and former Vice President for Design and Branding for WGBH. The program accompanies a one-day exhibition and sale of poster masterpieces drawn from the Gallery’s world-leading Swiss collection.
Browse all of our Swiss posters here and browse more of our Swiss poster favorites on Pinterest.
Dec 3, 2012 | Gallery News
Do you have Winter Wanderlust?
Vintage posters for exotic vacation destinations and a selection of general works are on display at International Poster Gallery just in time for the holidays! From the sun-drenched French Riviera to the icy peaks of the Alps, there’s something for everyone in the gallery’s 19th annual holiday poster exhibition.
Winter Wanderlust is free and open to the public, and is on view December 1 – January 30 at our Newbury Street Gallery. We hope to see you there!
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.
