I have to own up to the fact I am already a huge fan of London Transport posters, I have three in my hallway already, so visiting the new permanent Global Poster Gallery is actually kind of like coming home.
There are of course lots of fantastic posters to check out with more than 100 artworks on display and it is great fun to compare and contrast styles and pick out your favourites. What I really enjoyed was how the exhibition explored the process of commissioning, refining and finally publishing a poster. Highlights included some fabulous letters from Assistant Publicity Officer Michael Levey and Publicity Officer Harold Hutchison. With great humour and personality we can see the back and forth of the design process.
From Levey admitting that the “our Chairman is a great believer in classic simplicity” to Hutchison advising that “the backside of a coach is not something we want people to look at” had me chuckling away as I admired the artistic skill of tiptoeing between various different design challenges.
I love Abram Games posters from seeing his work at the National Army Museum on an exhibition about war artists in 2019 so it was a real treat to see actual vibrant artworks. Tiny thumbnail sketches show how Games worked from concept to finished commission and it was an unexpected treat to see his paint palette and brushes. It is a great way to open up the process behind a poster and the hours spent on design and creation.
A wonderful letter from artist Charles Shepard reminds us of the painful feeling of rejection when a design doesn’t quite cut the mustard, but to his credit it is a very elegant heart felt response to disappointment.
“I have to admit I became very keen and worked up over this job, the shock of cancelling has left me with my Heart in one shoe and the other full of tears, such is the life of the artist who loves his work.”
Charles Shepard, 1960.
It is unsurprising that some great comic artists were behind a number of memorable posters, it is quite a skill to get a message across in a humorous way and often better than preaching the general public. I have seen Cyril Kenneth Bird’s work before at the Cartoon Museum, know as Fougasse, he was a cartoonist and illustrator who edited Punch magazine between 1949 and 1953. I love his work, it has a timeless quality that would see his posters right at home on the Elizabeth Line today.
I doubt you will look at a poster on public transport in the same way again, I will definitely be thinking more about train stations, bus stops and underground tunnels as art galleries, alive with colour, artistic endeavour and creativity.
The Global Poster Gallery is great to visit, such a fertile breeding ground for artists and designers of the future as well as the casual observer like me, if I had any wall space left I would be bringing a few more favourites home with me, after all it is Christmas!
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The Global Poster Gallery is the new permanent gallery space at the London Transport Museum, for ticket prices and opening times please see their website – London Transport Museum
Tincture of Museum 