Sunday 2 June 2013

POSTER ART 150 – LONDON UNDERGROUND’S GREATEST DESIGNS

London After Dark by Fred Millett (1968) 
A current exhibition at the London Transport Museum commemorates 150 years of London Underground by showcasing 150 posters commissioned throughout the past 100 years. Their first commissioned poster was in 1908 if you’re wondering about the disparity between dates.

Selected from an archive of thousands the posters they differ in emphasis. Some celebrate the bright lights, culture and major events in the capital; others encourage passengers to venture out to the (then) leafy suburbs; etiquette advice is given to travellers; and more than a few suggest using the Underground is an experience in itself (that’s true enough).

As well as showcasing London and travel, the art demonstrates the graphic styles of the eras they were designed. It will come as no surprise some my favourites shown here are either from the '60s or from the '20s (which strongly influenced the '60s style).

Uxbridge by Charles Paine (1921)
Art Today by Hans Unger (1966)
Hearing The Riches of London by Frederick Charles Herrick (1927)
Poster Art 150 is an exhibition within the London Transport Museum, Covent Garden until 27 October 2013. Entry to the museum costs £15 for unlimited visits for a year. The complete poster archive can be viewed on-line here.

3 comments:

  1. Fabulous pics; I'm a huge fan of poster art.
    So... I've got until when to get down to London to see it?... October? Yay, I might actually manage it! Thanks for the tip-off!

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  2. If you can make it C, do. There are so many great posters and reducing them to a few inches on a screen doesn't in any way do them justice.

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  3. Been to this . Great exhibition . I love the old underground art .

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