LONDON.- Christie’s will present a striking collection of over 100 vintage posters that explore developments in graphic design from 1894 to 1988 in the Graphic Masterworks: A Century of Design auction on 2 October 2013. The collection, put together over 40 years by eminent poster connoisseur Martijn Le Coultre, features artists who were at the forefront of avant-garde art and design, known for their revolutionary use of typography, layout and colour and their impact on the De Stijl, Bauhaus, Constructivism and Expressionism movements. With estimates ranging from £1,000 to £200,000, the sale offers a unique opportunity to acquire some of the rarest and most groundbreaking posters and graphics ever produced. Highlights from the sale can be viewed at an extended public exhibition, open until 30 August at Christie’s King Street.

Sophie Churcher, Specialist in the Vintage Posters department at Christie’s commented: “In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the poster was the primary means of advertising and as such, it had to grab the attention of the passer-by in a matter of seconds. Today, these posters connect with people in a very direct and immediate manner, and are just as powerful as when they were first presented to the public. Graphic Masterworks traces important developments in advertising and design, whilst reflecting significant moments in the social and cultural history of the twentieth century. Originally designed to last just a few weeks before they were torn down, the posters on offer are exceptionally rare, and many have never been seen at auction before.”

HIGHLIGHTS
One of the rarest and most valuable posters in the sale is Staatliches Bauhaus by Joost Schmidt. (Estimate: £150,000 – 200,000).

Martijn Le Coultre recalled: “When the Bauhaus organised its milestone exhibition in 1923, inflation in Germany was at an all-time high. It was impossible to source good paper for posters so very few survived. Those that did are fragile and much sought after. It took me 25 years to find this work, now it’s my turn to offer it to another collector.”

Theátre Pigalle by Jean Carlu (Estimate: £30,000-40,000) is one of the most abstract posters in the collection and another key lot in the sale. Created for the opening night of the art deco theatre in 1929, Carlu’s design conceptualises the groundbreaking engineering of the new venue by emphasising the lighting and mechanics, creating a truly avant-garde design.

Prominent figures in Moscow's artistic avant-garde circles, The Stenberg Brothers worked in a variety of mediums, from Constructivist sculpture to theatre design and architecture. They made their greatest impact, however, on poster design during the 1920s, creating some of the most experimental and powerful designs ever conceived. The brothers designed The General (Estimate: £30,000-50,000), to advertise the cinematic comedy masterpiece by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton. Their revolutionary approach to design, the introduction of implied movement and distortion of scale, is typical of the Constructivist style they pioneered.

POSTER DESIGN AND THE INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING
One of the earliest advertising images included in the collection is a Dutch poster for salad oil, estimated to fetch £20,000 to £25,000. Designed by Jan Toorop in the 1890s, Delftsche Slaolie with its sinuous forms of the lavishly dressed women merging into the patterned background reflects the values of the prosperous bourgeois society which fuelled Art Nouveau. This poster became so popular that Art Nouveau is known today as the ‘Salad Oil Style’ in The Netherlands.

Advertising designs became increasingly simplified in the early 20th Century with a new pared down quality, exemplified by the Sachplakat style. Strong images emerged where only the brand name and adverstised product were represented. Pioneered by prolific designer Lucian Bernhard , Sachplakat featured clean, clear and accurate lines and flat blocks of colour. It was a groundbreaking and compelling style that shaped the future of commercial advertising. Lucian Bernhard’s Manoli, 1910 (estimate:£10,000 – 15,000) is the archytypal example.

Art Deco posters included in the sale such as René Magritte’s Primevère poster (estimate: £12,000 – 16,000), shows the development of advertising in more lavish design. Better known for his Surrealist works, Magritte was a prolific magazine and advertising illustrator and contributed greatly to the Art Deco movement with his poster, wallpaper and textile designs. He produced Primevère in 1926, the same year that he created his first surrealist painting.

Following the Second World War, dramatic changes in technology, consumer desires and an increasingly competitive market greatly influenced the advertising industry. Posters had to convey a multitude of messages and designers were required to think conceptually, as well as aesthetically. Abram Games’ Guinness 5 Million Daily (estimate: £1,000 – 1,500) conveys his philosophy on design: “maximum meaning by minimum means”.

Highlights from the sale will be displayed in frames by leading framer John Jones.