Art Poster: Now And Then

Posters characterize the intersection of art and commerce. The role and appearance of the poster has changed continuously over the past century to meet the changing needs of society. Starting in Paris during the 1870s’, posters were the prevailing means of mass communication and advertising in the burgeoning cities of Europe and America. Streets were made over into “art galleries”. Toulouse-Lautrec’s first poster, Moulin Rouge, came out in 1891 and elevated the status of the poster to fine art. Dealers, exhibitions, magazines dealing in posters proliferated. World War I gave posters a new role: propaganda. The public’s love affair with the art posters hasn’t abated a bit and today posters are displayed in many galleries. The role and appearance of the pos View the rest of this article