From Winters Gloom to Summers Joy

Edward McKnight Kauffer|Underground Electric Railways of London|Vincent Brooks, Day & Son

1927 · Lithograph · Drawings and Prints

Kauffer was admired for creating works for a large public audience that were structured by an avant-garde visual language. The popularity of his posters among a diverse audience, which included artists and cultural producers as well as everyday commuters, inspired the art critic and Grosvenor School professor Frank Rutter to note that Kauffer "accomplished the miracle of introducing Cubism into the railway-stations and hoarding[s] of England." In this vibrant poster, Kauffer depicted the transition from winter to summer through layered planes of color, hard-edged forms, and stark contrasts between the dark tones of winter and the brighter colors of summer. Exemplifying this seasonal shift is a figure who appears first on the left, shrouded in a heavy black coat and hat, and then again in the center, outfitted in white sports clothes and tennis racquet.

Artist

Edward McKnight Kauffer|Underground Electric Railways of London|Vincent Brooks, Day & Son

Date

1927

Medium

Lithograph

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, Peco Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019