The Sun Poster by Louis Rhead, Lithograph from Les Maîtres de L’Affiche
Art and Decorative
£500.00
Until the mid-19th Century, printed advertising posters tended to be predominantly text-only. During the second half of the 19th Century however, artists began to see new possibilities in the poster medium, linking imagery to modern commerce. By the 1890s, the streets of every great city were emblazoned with large and colourful posters. These not only caught the attention of the public, but the best examples were regarded as true works of art (specifically, as fine prints) to be exhibited, reviewed in journals, collected and reproduced. The spirit of the Belle Époque had given birth to a new artistic movement and in Paris, Jules Chéret, (1836-1932) paved the way for the poster industry, opening his own printing business, Imprimerie Chaix in 1866.
Chéret published smaller chromolithographic versions (in authentic colours) of 256 of the most highly regarded posters of the day, created by 97 artists including Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre Bonnard. Every month from December 1895 to November 1900, subscribers received a wrapped parcel containing four consecutively numbered poster reproductions, often with a bonus plate of a specially created lithograph, creating one of the most influential art publications in history; the suite entitled Les Maîtres de L’Affiche – “The Masters of the Poster”.
“The Sun” (Plate 8) was created by British artist Louis John Rhead (1857-1926), who studied art in Paris. Rhead immigrated to the USA in 1883 to work as the art director for D. Appleton & Company in New York. Rhead’s poster designs appeared in popular magazines of the 1890s, including Century Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar and Scribner’s Magazine. In 1895, he received the Gold Medal award for Best American Poster Design at the International Poster Show in Boston. Rhead illustrated several children’s books in the early 1900s, including Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and Kidnapped. This Art Nouveau style poster was produced to advertise space in the New York Sun newspaper for which Rhead designed several posters.
Original stone lithograph, 1896. Blind stamp “Les Maîtres de l’Affiche, Imprimerie Chaix” on the bottom right corner. Framed and mounted.
Framed dimensions:
Height: 52 cm (20.5 inches)
Width: 40 cm (15.75 inches)
