c.1950 Washington DC Capitol American Airlines Edward McKnight Kauffer

Date: c.1950Artist: Kauffer, Edward McKnight    Size (in): 40” x 30.5”Size (cm): 101.6 x 77.5Condition: BLinen backed: Yes This beautiful travel poster by prolific poster artist Edward McKnight Kauffer was issued by American Airlines in the late 1940s or early 1950s to promote Washington DC as a travel destination. American-born Kauffer’s long career in graphic design began in Great Britain where his clients included the London Underground and the Shell Oil Company among others. At the outbreak of the Second World War Kauffer returned to the United States where his skill was deployed to create several wartime posters in support of the Allied cause. This post-war poster retains some of the Modernist style elements associated with Kauffer’s earlier poster work in depicting stylized view of the United States Capitol Building set against an almost surreal night sky replete with twinkling stars.   The words “Washington” and “American Airlines” are featured in a patriotic red, white and bl