International Poster Gallery

It is hard to imagine the cities of the world without posters. Yet it wasn't until the mid 1860s that Jules Chéret developed the color lithography technique which would transform Paris into the "picture gallery of the street." As Charles Hiatt wrote in 1895: "Paris, without its Chérets, would be without one of its most pronounced characteristics...Chéret's posters greet one joyously as one passes every hoarding, smile at one from the walls of every cafe, arrest one before the windows of every kiosk"...

Long undervalued and neglected, vintage Italian poster art is today enjoying a renaissance as collectors and scholars rediscover its remarkable style. Up until the last few years, rarity, Italian disinterest, and negative political associations prevented the Italian poster from being properly appreciated. After years of collecting, our Gallery presented The Italian Poster Rediscovered, the first major gallery exhibit of Italian poster masterpieces in the U.S., which revealed the genius of the Italian poster...

Lenin created the first truly modern propaganda machine, and its most colorful, dramatic and original form was the poster. Although posters were produced in Russia before the Revolution, they were overshadowed by the remarkable propaganda posters of the Soviets. Lenin takes responsibility for creating the first truly modern propaganda machine, from postage stamps and Mayday parades to monumental sculptures. Perhaps its most colorful, dramatic and original form was the poster...

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. Yet most collectors have missed out on this rich tradition. What appears to be an elegant French poster or an unabashedly direct German one could very well be Swiss...