The Pushkin Museum presents advertising posters of the London Underground from its collection at an exhibition in the Moscow Metro

In the Metro gallery at Vystavochnaya station from 15 to 31 January 2021, the Pushkin Museum is showing reproductions of advertising posters of the famous London Underground from its collection. The project is dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Moscow Metro and demonstrates one of the sections of the exhibition Advertising as Art. British poster of the late XIX - early XX century from the collection of the Pushkin Museum. A. S. Pushkin ”in the Gallery of Art from Europe and America of the XIX-XX centuries, which will resume its work after the opening of the museum.

Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin owns a collection of applied graphics of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, unique in terms of completeness and value, the most interesting period associated with the emergence and development of national schools of artistic advertising. Images of 30 advertising posters of the London Underground from the museum’s collection have been selected for the exhibition in the Moscow Metro. Recognized masterpieces of commercial lithography accounted for the glory of British design in the 1930s. The development of the advertising service in the metropolitan subway began with the arrival of Frank Pick as head of the department. He managed to create an image of a modern and elegant, reliable and affordable mode of transport that saves time and opens up huge opportunities for passengers. Dynamic and bright images, an economical recognizable font and a common sign-symbol with which the subway will henceforth be associated,defined the nature of transport advertising for decades.

Illustrated advertising of the subway informed passengers about cultural events, announced exhibitions and concerts, tennis tournaments and horse races, military holidays and festivals in the capital. She informed tourists about sights and museums that they can find in the vicinity of the stations. She carefully suggested routes and transfer schemes, thereby non-intrusively, delicately promoting her services in British style. In addition, advertising for the London Underground was directly related to contemporary art trends in the 20th century. The works of renowned modernist advertising designers - Fred Taylor, Edward Coffer, Austin Cooper, Clifford and Rosemary Ellis reflect all the significant phenomena that took place on the European art scene - cubism, futurism, surrealism and, of course, the dominant style of the era - Art Deco.

Exhibition “Advertising as Art. British poster of the late XIX - early XX century from the collection of the Pushkin Museum. Alexander Pushkin "(October 20, 2020 - March 2021, Gallery of Art of Europe and America of the XIX-XX centuries, Volkhonka, 14). The exhibition includes more than 150 advertising posters from the museum collection, representing the work of the best English artists and designers - Aubrey Beardsley, Edward McKnight Coffer, Baggarstaffs, Tom Purvis, Edward Bowden, Austin Cooper and other masters. The exposition is timed to coincide with the release of the catalog of the British poster collection at the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin and continues a series of museum projects dedicated to the results of research and restoration work to restore fragile documents of the era.