How Many Polish Posters Does it Take to Make an Important Collection?
February 25, 2008
Our award-winning Graphic Design Program is now home to the remarkable Polish poster collection of Professor Frank Fox. The collection contains upwards of a thousand print works of art that were created between the 1930's and the 1990's. Represented are internationally known graphic artists whose work brought Poland to the forefront of modern poster design. The collection includes posters for dozens of American movies, for sports, for tourism, for heavy industry and for consumer products. Some have subtle political undertones necessitated by a repressive communist regime, while others supported the Solidarity movement. Some of the artwork is extremely rare, and all were chosen personally by Professor Fox with an art historian's eye.
Poster art rose to a position of prominence in Poland in the late 19th century and the First International Exhibition of the Poster took place in Cracow in 1898. In recognition of the importance of Polish poster art, the First International Poster Biennale was held at Warsaw's Zacheta Museum in 1966, and two years later a museum dedicated solely to poster art was opened in Wilanow.
The collection, with important social and artistic value, will be used to support classroom engagements. The collection will also form the basis for exhibitions to be mounted here at Drexel or to be traveled to venues elsewhere. Selections from the Polish poster collection will be on display in the Pearlstein Gallery in January 2009.