Communist Posters

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This digital collection comprises selected materials from the following archival collection at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library: Russian Posters collection 1919-1989 and undated During the Cold War, Polish artists approached movie posters differently from the rest of the world. Instead of using stills or headshots, they often created imagery inspired by the movies themselves.

Red alert: Collecting Soviet propaganda posters - BBC Worklife Red alert: Collecting Soviet propaganda posters - BBC Worklife

As the perceived threat increased, so too did the scale of the monstrous caricatures. In the post-WWI era German and Norwegian posters above, Godzilla-sized Communists lay waste to entire cities. Below, in “Bolshevism Unmasked,” an example from the Second World War, the skeletal Communist destroyer straddles the entire globe.They agreed. The only rule was that he, and subsequent poster artists, must not do things the way they were done in the West. And as long as the artists avoided politics, they were left to their own devices. The Polish posters we collect are generally bold, joyful and colourful, but stylistically Polish posters were very diverse. There were also some very dark and surreal designs. What they share is a soulful quality that is impossible to replicate and genuine originality which still manages to surprise and delight us to this day. How did you get started?

Posters Photos and Premium High Res Cold War Propaganda Posters Photos and Premium High Res

Lowry said it is impossible to tell whether Soviet poster prices will continue to rise, but history suggests the best and rarest works by important artists will. No particular genre is the most collectible, said specialists. Instead, the age of the poster and artist are integral to establishing value. Polish posters really hit their stride during the age of Communism. From 1952 to 1989, the Soviet bloc controlled Poland, and posters were often the only spots of color along the gray, quiet streets in Polish cities. The artists used their work to convey their disdain for the Soviet regime and against the use of violence but did so with humour and charm, and always subtly enough to get past the censors. On the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ginsberg has edited a comprehensive presentation of the often vivid propaganda that, for the eyes of hundreds of millions in a pre-social media age, celebrated and condemned the likes of Castro, Mao, Lenin, Stalin, and the apparatchiks who tried to implement their theories and schemes. . . . Over 330 illustrations demonstrate the range and the scope beyond the U.S.S.R. and the P.R.C., with chapters on Korea, Mongolia, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and Cuba put in context with scholarly essays that cross-reference recurring themes."Calling themselves The Red Guards, radical students set out to destroy the "four olds": old ideas, customs, habits and culture. They spearheaded the interrogation, humiliation and beatings of teachers and intellectuals, and travelled the country destroying cultural heritage.

Posters Collection, 1919-1989 and undated / Digital Russian Posters Collection, 1919-1989 and undated / Digital

The artists' work was so admired that the city of Krakow announced the first "International Exposition of the Poster" in 1898. Its organizer, Jan Wdowiszewski, believed that posters should combine artistic and utilitarian value, present a critical view of reality, and fit in at both art galleries and alleyways. There's no question that many Polish posters fit that description. Wikimedia Commons Stanisław Wyspiański, depicted in this self portrait, was a Polish poster maker at the end of the 19th century. As soon as we started to research the history behind the posters, we realised we'd stumbled across something incredible. Incredibly, there were no other art dealers in the UK telling this story. Why did you want to bring this project to life? As a true portrait master, he painted Soviet leaders, such as Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, as well as elite representatives of the communist party, for which he received the unofficial title of ‘the first brush of the Politburo’ in the Soviet art scene.From images of Vladimir Lenin promising “Land to the peasants!” to those of Mao Zedong declaring the Cultural Revolution, communist regimes have relied on powerful—and often beautifully wrought—artwork to ensure the successes of their revolutions. Because of their ease of distribution, posters in particular have figured as central vehicles of propaganda in nearly every communist nation. In this book, Mary Ginsberg offers the first truly global survey of the history and variety of communist poster art. This poster depicts the Nazi triumph in the 1932 elections. The text reads, "The People Vote Slate 1—National Socialists." Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C./The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum There are some hungry, aggressive poster collectors and you're speaking to one of them,” joked Dr Sergo Grigorian, a Russian collector based in London who has over 2000 political Soviet posters. We must make the young into a generation of Communists. Children, like soft wax, are very malleable and they should be moulded into good Communists... We must rescue children from the harmful influence of the family... We must nationalize them. From the earliest days of their little lives, they must find themselves under the beneficent influence of Communist schools... To oblige the mother to give her child to the Soviet state – that is our task."