Poster Show for First-Time Buyers Opens in Feb.

The International Poster Center will offer more than 400 original vintage posters from the latter half of the 20th century in its second Modern Poster Auction. Featuring posters from around the world, this show explores the unbridled creativity that defined graphic advertising from the 1950s onward. All items are on view February 1 – February 10, open and free to the public.

Aimed at first-time buyers, with many reserves as low as $50, this sale offers the unique opportunity to begin collecting edgy works of art that will only increase in value. It is the ideal entryway into the exciting world of vintage posters.

In an age where most advertisements are created on a computer, it is easy to forget that not too long ago ads were actually created by artists – people with a creative vision and knack for grabbing the attention of the passersby. This sale is a celebration of those who kept, and to some extent still keep, the art of the poster alive during the latter half of the 20th century. From political propaganda to the psychedelic concert posters of the 1960s, from nationalist Olympic promotion to the subversive brilliance of Polish cyrk art, this auction is a veritable treasure trove of important, vibrant, and exciting Modern images which have decorated streets around the world within our lifetime.

Notable artists featured in this show are Richard Avedon, David Byrd, Alexander Calder, A.M. Cassandre, Ivan Chermayeff, Seymour Chwast, Henryk Tomaszewski, Paul Davis, Hans Erni, Joe Eula, Pierre Fix-Masseau, Gunter Rambow, Edward Gorey, Al Hirschfeld, E. McKnight Kauffer, Gunther Kieser, Jan Lenica, Herbert Leupin, Tomoko Miho, Alex Katz, Celestino Piatti, Razzia, Raymond Savignac, David Singer, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, Lee Conklin, Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson, Ben Shahn, Saul Steinberg, Tomi Ungerer, Bernard Villemot, Andy Warhol, and Tadanori Yokoo.

Accompanying this schmorgasboard of artistic talent are such (in)famous subjects as Che Guevarra, Jimi Hendrix, The Supremes, the Cannes Film Festival, Buster Keaton, Fu Manchu, Gary Snyder, Woody Allen, Vietnam, Nixon, Gitanes, the IRA, horse racing, Japanese Mod, Charlie Chaplin, Cuba, Houdini, Ricky Jay, the Polish Cyrk, the Marx Brothers, Herman Miller, Bill Graham & the Fillmore West, the Moscow Olympics, the Rolling Stones, Elvis, Frank Zappa, and Allen Ginsberg.

All this and more will be on view, free to the public beginning on Monday, February 1. Opening reception Thursday, February 4, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Catalogue available at http://www.postersplease.com.