FLY THERE BY KLM / ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES. Circa 1950.
38 3/4x23 inches, 98 1/2x58 1/2 cm. Kuhn & Zn., Rotterdam. Condition A: slight darkening at edges.
Van Heusden never formally studied art but did have illustrations published while he attended business school. In 1945, after a stint working with a painter, he found himself employed in the advertising department of K.L.M. In 1948, van Heusden designed a poster that featured a large KLM travel bag being carried by a disembodied arm; it was a much-awarded image within The Netherlands. Playing off that success, this image presents a KLM bag placed amongst other luggage beneath a wall adorned with travel posters. As with a number of his other posters, this image "does not have a selling function in the strict sense of the word, but is primarily intended to support the general brand advertising of KLM abroad;" it is a world-traveler's dream (Ariadne, November 1, 1948, p. 326).
