The American Image: U.S. Posters from the 19th to the 21st Century

The modern American poster has figured prominently in virtually every major political, social, commercial, and cultural development in the country. With arresting images and text, these posters have informed and sold Americans on election campaigns, the nation s war efforts, protest movements, consumer products, travel, entertainment, etc. They also comprise a history of U.S. graphic design, reflecting dramatic changes in style, advertising theory, and printing, as well as the emergence of key graphic designers. "The American Image" provides a rare survey of this popular art, spanning more than one hundred years. Selected from the Resnick Collection, the book analyzes some 70 posters representative of every significant style and theme. They range from design masterpieces to works of historical value, from posters by renowned designers to those created anonymously, and from celebrated images to those never before published. Maxfield Parrish, Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Ben Shahn, Lester Beall, and Paul Rand are some of the designers represented here. This handsome book includes superb, full-color reproductions; an incisive essay on American poster design by R. Roger Remington; and a preface and authoritative commentary on each image by Mark Resnick.