Artist: E. McKnight Kauffer
Condition: A- *
Dimensions: 29.9 x 39.8 in. / 76 x 101 cm.
Circa: 1950s
Linen Backed
* See Condition Grading section for further details
There is restored edge and corner wear, tears; some surface smudges and staining; loss at the bottom right corner has been professionally restored; this wonderful midcentury airline travel poster should display beautifully once framed.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace is split across two color fields, gold and blue, a single diagonal line dividing them. Minimal, elegant, and completely assured. Paris is evoked not through the Eiffel Tower or café scenes but through one of the Louvre's greatest treasures, rendered as pure graphic form.
Kauffer's work for American Airlines is among the most collected American airline poster art in existence, and this Paris image stands at the top of that series. A serious piece by any measure.