Page 170 - Swann Galleries - Modernist Posters - Sale 2314 - May 13, 2013

HENRYK TOMASZEWSKI (1914-2005)
212 ● HENRYK TOMASZEWSKI VARSOVIE. 1969.
251/2x18 inches, 74 3/4 x453/4 cm. Roger Pfeuti, La Neuveville.
Condition A-: light folds through lower text and upper corners; creases in margins and image; hand-signed
and inscribed by the artist in lower image. Paper.
After his studies at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Tomaszewski established himself as a free-lance
graphic designer. He later returned to the academy for three decades (1952-1985) and served as a
professor. Widely considered one of the most influential Polish graphic designers and educators, he is also
one of the most celebrated. Not only did he influence generations of young Polish artists, but his work
is world renowned and has earned him many major awards for graphic design. He invented a minimalist
and humorous style, considered childish in its simplicity, which enabled him to design a poster using only
a few strokes of his pen. These images are pure visual communication, wherein a single object or gesture
takes on a sense of drama or humor, leading him to be referred to as a “spiritual son of the dadaists” (The
Poster p. 319). The image on this poster, for an exhibition of the artist’s work in Biel/Bienne Switzerland,
was re-used again in 1984, and then again in 1994 for other exhibitions. This is the RARE first printing.
Tomaszewski p. 50 (var), Masters of Polish Poster Art p. 203. [800/1,200]