Georges Paul Leroux
French, 1877-1957
Exposition Universelle/Palais de L'Optique/La Grande Lunette de 1900, 1900
Color lithograph (poster)
Gift of Gabriel P. and Yvonne M. L. Weisberg, in honor of Lisa Michaux, for the Weisberg Collection at the MIA 2010.68

A Means of Escape: European Posters from 1889 to 1930

Saturday, August 27, 2011—Sunday, December 11, 2011
Target Atrium I
Free Exhibition

Like advertisements today, enticing early poster art often promoted more than the featured product. It offered ways to leave one's everyday existence behind and enter a world of fun, fantasy and hedonism. This exhibition examines escapism in large-scale advertisements and focuses on three forms of diversion: fast transportation, dazzling entertainment and reckless imbibing. While such activities carry an inherent appeal, an investigation of the historical context surrounding these works will also help to reveal what the public might have been trying to forget.