Edward McKnight Kauffer: The Poster King

Associated media

at The Estorick Collection, London

14 September to 18 December 2011

Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954) is one of the key figures of British modernism, having created some of the most iconic and influential commercial imagery to be produced in this country during the early 20^th century.  This exhibition will provide a stimulating overview of the artist’s career, focusing in particular on his time in England (1914-40), and also incorporating a nucleus of lesser-known early pieces reflecting the aesthetics of Vorticism, Cubism and Futurism, and a fascinating collection of Kauffer-related ephemera including letters, sketches and photographs.

A hugely versatile artist, Kauffer’s output drew on a wide variety of styles from Japanese art to Fauvism, Futurism and Abstraction, and encompassed painting, applied art, interior design and scenography.  Yet it is undoubtedly his celebrated posters, created for London Underground and Shell during the 1920s and ‘30s, for which he remains most famous.  Nevertheless, despite creating some of the most iconic and influential commercial imagery to be produced in this country during the early 20^th century, his achievements have not received the same level of recognition as those of fellow avant-garde pioneers such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and Wyndham Lewis, all of whom – like Kauffer himself – were artists with roots in America yet who made the United Kingdom their home.

ESTORICK COLLECTION OF MODERN ITALIAN ART

39a Canonbury Square

London N1 2AN

Tel. +44 (0)20 7704 9522

www.estorickcollection.com