?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER AMERICAN AIRLINES / WASHINGTON. Circa 1947. 39 3/4x30 1/8 inches. Condition B+: repaired tears and minor restored losses in margins; pinholes in corners. In 1948, Kauffer designed a poster for American Airlines travel to Washington D.C., which presented a straightforward view of the Capitol, beneath a starry sky, with red, white and blue typography. That popular, generic, image is readily available, as many copies have survived. The far more sophisticated design of this image clearly suggests that it was designed earlier than 1948. Likely far too "European" (complex) for American sensibilities, it seems Kauffer was asked to design a different image for Washington which would be more accessible and comforting to the American public. Note here how the clouds evoke the stripes of the American flag. This image has never appeared at auction before.
