Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Painting of the Day: Anemones and Gauloise Cigarettes, 1938

The Victoria & Albert Museum


This brilliantly colored painting of a vase of anemones and a packet of Gauloise cigarettes is dated 11/07/1938 and is the work of Edward McKnight Kauffer, an American-born designer and painter. Kauffer was one of the principal graphic artists of the first half of the Twentieth Centur, known for his poster and advertisement work in Britain between the two world wars/ Furthermore, his book illustrations and theater designs were considered amongst the most influential of his day.

When he first started out, Kauffer considered himself a painter above all else. This bright still life is one of a group of four paintings (two landscapes and two still-lifes) which were purchased by the V&A in 1980.

No comments: