Wednesday 29 November 2023

Edward McKnight Kauffer - part 6

 Hailed in his lifetime as “the poster king,” E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954) believed that the street was an art gallery for the people. While living in England between 1914 and 1940, Kauffer produced radical posters for advertising that introduced modernism to the public. He experimented in provocative ways with line, form, space, and colour to promote services and products. He did not limit himself to posters, and designed a remarkable range of book covers, rugs, theatrical productions, and more, continuing his work in New York from 1940 until his death.

For more biographical notes see part 1, and for earlier works, see parts 1 - 5 also.

This is part 6 of a 6-part series on the works of E. McKnight Kauffer:

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Findlater Book of Wines (cover design)
issued by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co.
gouache
V&A Museum, London

1935 Stop On India Nonskid Tyres And Feel The Difference
colour lithograph poster 74.6 x 49.8 cm

1935 The New Gas Fires Says Mr Therm
Light Themselves
colour lithograph poster 76.1 x 50.7 cm

1935 Train Yourself to Better Work
colour lithograph poster 101.6 x 63.5 cm
London Transport Museum


1935 Tapestries to hang on the panelling of a dining room of a house in Sloane Square:

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1935 Tapestry Design
pencil and gouache 30.5 x 10.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London


c1935 ABC lettering design on a black ground
V&A Museum, London

c1935 Design for a geometric figure
gouache on paper 26.1 x 21.4 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1935 Gents directional Gents Loo sign used during an exhibition at Percy Lund Humphries, London
 V&A Museum, London

1936 Double Shell Lubricating Oil
 colour lithograph poster 115 x 76 cm

1936 Landscape
oil on board 32.7 x 40.6 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 Landscape with a Barn
oil on board 32.7 x 40.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 11.4 x 45.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 30.5 x 54.5 cm
V&A Museum London

1936 London's New Entertainment Centre
design for photo-murals advertising Earl's Court
mixed media, collage, paint 30.5 x 54.5 cm
V&A Museum London

1936 The Tower of London
London Transport poster

1936 To Visit Britain's Landmarks You Can be Sure of Shell
Dinton Castle Near Aylesbury
colour lithograph poster 72.1 x 99.1 cm

1936 Westminster Abbey - London Transport
two-colour lithograph poster 50.8 x 31.8 cm
London Transport Museum

1936 Westminster From The Thames
London Transport poster

1937 Composition of Leaf and Tree
collage of stained sycamore veneers, drawing and a photographic print 24.8 x 30.5 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1937 News Chronicle Schools Exhibition
colour offset lithograph poster 71.4 x 47.9 cm

1937 South And East African Air Mail
Make Every Day Posting Day
colour offset lithograph poster 37.6 x 25.5 cm

1937 Study Success At The Advertising Exhibition, Olympia
colour lithograph poster 76 x 60.6 cm

c1937 Untitled design:
A laminated wood collage of a tree trunk
V&A Museum, London

1938 Autumn Woods
colour lithograph poster for London Transport
101.3 x 63.4 cm

1938 Still Life: Anemones and Gauloise Cigarettes
oil on board 21.6 x 26.8 cm
V&A Museum, London

1939 Summer Shell - May to October
colour lithograph poster 76.2 x 114.3 cm

1940 Lend to Defend the Right to be Free
design for a National Savings poster executed during WW2
gouache original 54.3 x 38.4 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1941 Luchamos Por La Libertad De Todos
colour lithograph poster for the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs

1942 Greece Fights On
poster colour lithography and offset printing 79 x 58.2 cm

1942 The Greatest Show on Earth (New York)
colour lithograph poster 77 x 108.8 cm 

1943 Civil Aeronautics Administration - Speeds The War
colour lithograph poster 101.3 x 71.8 cm
MoMA, New York

1945 The Clio by L.H. Myers
book cover design

1947 Shop between 10 and 4 Avoid The Rush Hour
colour lithograph poster 102.9 x 62.9 cm
London Transport Museum

1950 American Airlines To Chicago
colour process engraving 101.6 x 76.2 cm

n.d. L'Heure
mixed media, paint and collage
V&A Museum, London

n.d. The Play's the Thing
Ex Libris book plate artwork
gouache 16.2 x 8.9 cm


Monday 27 November 2023

Edward McKnight Kauffer - part 5


Hailed in his lifetime as “the poster king,” E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954) believed that the street was an art gallery for the people. While living in England between 1914 and 1940, Kauffer produced radical posters for advertising that introduced modernism to the public. He experimented in provocative ways with line, form, space, and colour to promote services and products. He did not limit himself to posters, and designed a remarkable range of book covers, rugs, theatrical productions, and more, continuing his work in New York from 1940 until his death.

For more biographical notes see part 1, and for earlier works, see parts 1 - 4 also.

This is part 5 of a 6-part series on the works of E. McKnight Kauffer:

1929 Cover for the BBC Handbook
colour process engraving 28 x 24.8 cm

1932 Great Western To Cornwall
colour lithograph poster 101.4 x 61.3 cm

1932 Great Western To Devon's Moors
colour lithograph poster 101.4 x 63 cm

1932 Piccadilly Extension
colour lithograph poster 101.6 x 63.5 cm
London Transport Museum

1932 Publicity Pays on the Underground
two-colour lithograph poster

1932 Set Design
poster paint on paper 22.9 x 27.8 cm
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1932 Wherever You Go You Can be Sure of Shell
The River Yeo Near Barnstabel
colour lithograph poster 76.2 x 114.9 cm

1933 Art Now
book jacket for Faber & Faber publishers
half-tone and line-block 21.9 x 19.3 cm

1933 Ask For BP Not Just Ethyl
colour lithograph poster 75.6 x 114.3 cm
MoMA, New York

1933 BP Ethyl Controls Horse-Power
colour lithograph poster 76 x 115 cm

1933 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex "BP"
pencil, pastel, pen and ink, gouache and collage on paper 27.9 x 17.2 cm
 ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1933 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
 pencil, pen and ink and gouache on paper 27.9 x 17.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1933 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
pencil, pen and ink on paper  27.7 x 17.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Designed 1933 issued 1935 Actors Prefer Shell
You Can be Sure of Shell
colour lithograph poster 76.2 x 114 cm

1933 Gilbey's Castle Port
colour lithograph poster 24.4 x 50.8 cm
MoMA, New York

1933 Gilbey's Invalid Port
colour lithograph poster 50.5 x 38 cm

1933 Merchants - Prefer Shell
colour lithograph poster

1933 Recommended for Winter
Double Shell Lubricating Oil
colour lithograph poster 75.6 x 113.3 cm
MoMA, New York

1933 Whitsuntide Holiday
Off To The Country By Bus Coach Train Tram
colour lithograph poster 102 x 63.5 cm

c1933 Textile Design
"I am the dreamer, they the dream"
gouache original design for a textile
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1933 Textile Design
gouache on paper
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1933 Textile Design
gouache on paper
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1933 Textile Design
gouache on paper
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1933 Textile Design
gouache on paper
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1933 Textile Design
gouache on paper
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 BP Ethyl for Snappy Engines
pen and ink and collage 42 x 16.5 cm

1934 Buckingham Palace From St. James's Park
London Transport poster

1934 Come on the Telephone
colour lithograph poster 53.3 x 62.9 cm

1934 Contact With The World
Use The Telephone
two-colour lithograph 76.2 x 50.4 cm

1934 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
pencil, pen and ink and gouache on paper 30.5 x 22.8 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
pencil, pen and ink and sprayed body-colour on card
 28.5 x 18.3 cm
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
pencil, pen and ink and sprayed body-colour on card
 38.6 x 27.2 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 Design for the oil company Shell-Mex
pencil, pen and ink, Gouache, and collage on paper
 28 x 16.8 cm
©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 For Snappy Engines - The Lively Petrol
design for a poster 26.5 x 11 cm

1934 Magicians prefer Shell
colour lithograph poster for Shell Mex and B.P. Ltd
76.2 x 114.3 cm

1934 Orient Line Cruises
colour lithograph poster 100 x 63.2 cm
MoMA, New York

1934 Orient Line to Australia
colour lithograph poster 98 x 61 cm

1934 Publicity Pays - Tell The World
colour lithograph poster for London Transport
76.3 x 50.8 cm

1934 Russia Today
body-colour design for a book entitled 'Russia To-Day' by G.S. Eddy, published by George Allen & Unwin, London
V&A Museum, London

1934 Shell Mex
Design for a poster
pencil drawing with ruler and compass and painting in body-colour on card
 ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1934 The Tower of London
colour lithograph poster 101.6 x 63.5 cm
London Transport Museum

1935 Actors Prefer Shell
colour lithograph poster 112.4 x 75 cm