Poster, Winter Sale at Derry & Toms, 1919

As the war drew to a close, the Underground’s new practice of commissioning modern artists to design its publicity materials became popular with a handful of adventurous clients. Among them was the department store Derry & Toms, which was drawn to Kauffer’s interpretations of German posters. Kauffer began designing for Derry & Toms in 1917, but it was not until 1919 that he merged the flat planes of color from German posters, the sense of motion adopted from Japanese prints, and the rhythm of vorticism into a single design approach.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.