The Art of the Poster — A Century of Design
London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2, until 31 March
The first thing to say is that this is not an exhibition of posters. It is, in fact, an exhibition of the original art works from which were made some of the last century’s best LT posters. There are more than 60 exhibits, and many of the finest were commissioned by Frank Pick (1878–1941), a founding member of the Design and Industries Association and managing director of LT. He was one of those enormously influential background figures — like Jack Beddington at Shell — who was responsible for LT’s publicity from 1908, and aimed to sell the Underground through its destinations, its urban and green-belt attractions. Nikolaus Pevsner called Pick ‘a modern Medici’, and his work as a patron of contemporary artists was indeed outstanding.
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