?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
DICK ELFERS (1910-1990) WEERBARE DEMOCRATIE. 1946. 43 3/8x27 5/8 inches. Druck Senefelder. Condition B: losses and tears in margins; creases in image. Brittle paper. After studying in Rotterdam, Elfers became an assistant to Paul Schuitema and Piet Zwart, the two rigorous constructivist masters. The shock of the Second World War served to drastically alter Elfers's style. This crudely expressionistic poster, Vigilant Democracy, designed for an exhibition organized by Willem Sandberg on Dutch Wartime Art, is considered a turning point in Elfers's career. He later wrote, "I never again wanted to be caught in a net of dogmas." The image of a man carrying a rifle (likely a self-portrait), is hypnotizing. The design plays with shadow and light on his face, with the subject's terrified eyes wide open, as if he has suddenly been caught in the headlights of the on-rushing world. The hand-drawn typography adds to the drama of the image, and the final result keeps the viewer breathless and is unforgettable. Extremely Rare. Dutch Graphic Design 194, International Poster Annual 1948/49 p. 22.
