December 15, 2012–July 21, 2013

Art in the Street

European Posters

The international poster mania of the 1890s made fine art accessible to the masses, bringing it out of the salon into the streets and shop windows. Great posters proliferated, however, long after this “golden age,” as revealed by the standout images in “Art in the Street” from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. With about 40 posters in all—highlights from the Museum’s collection of some 2,500—the show takes in virtually every major style in poster design of this era, from Art Nouveau to Russian photomontage. Also on view are major works by Jules Chéret, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pierre Bonnard, as well as less familiar work from Northern Europe, including a Secession poster by Wassily Kandinsky and a selection of Dutch posters from around 1910. The show concludes with several Swiss “object posters,” bold illustrations of an isolated product that dispense with text.

  • Frances Vrachos Gallery (Gallery 144)

Sponsors

Presented with generous support from The Bruce and Laura Monrad Fund for Exhibitions, and an anonymous donor.