NEW YORK 1939 WORLD'S FAIR POSTER

This Art Deco poster is one of a series designed for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.  Featuring “The World of Tomorrow” (a theme of the fair), this poster is a dramatic visualization of the Fair’s two monumental futuristic structures, the Perisphere (the enormous sphere) and the Trylon (the tall spire), both of which positively glow. The skyscrapers of New York, obvious emblems of modern times, are also shown, but they are minuscule by comparison.

But the world of tomorrow, as shown, is not just be a world populated with futuristic architectural wonders.  It’s also a world of limitless travel opportunities, as small images of a sleek train, a modernistic ocean liner and a soaring formation of airplanes, all highlighted in orange, stand out against the blue background. Blue and orange were the fair's official colors.  Spotlights scan the sky, creating a sense of motion and excitement. The future held great promise, and the New York World’s Fair was going to prove this.

The fair opened in April of 1939. The Great Depression was waning, and World War II had not yet begun.  When Germany invaded Poland five months later in September 1939, triggering the start of WWII in Europe, the fair continued but many exhibits were affected, especially those on display in the pavilions of countries under Axis occupation.

Joseph Binder (1898-1972), who designed this poster, was born in Vienna where he was schooled as a painter before becoming a leader in the emerging field of graphic design.  He moved to the United states in the 1930s and won numerous awards for poster designs. He felt that posters were “an expression of contemporary civilization reduced to its simplest forms for instantaneous visual communication."

This poster brings with it a piece of US history and will add interest to every room where it is placed.

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