May 03, 2018 - Sale 2476

Sale 2476 - Lot 170

Price Realized: $ 488
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
ZÉRÓ (HANS SCHLEGER, 1898-1976) IN THE BLACKOUT / WEAR OR CARRY SOMETHING WHITE. 1943.
24 3/4x20 inches, 63x50 3/4 cm. The Baynard Press, [London.]
Condition B+: diagonal tape stains in corners on verso, showing through; water stain in lower right corner; minor creases and abrasions at edges. Paper.
Having lived and worked in both Berlin and New York, Hans Schleger finally settled in London in 1932. A pioneer of Modernism, he worked extensively for Shell Oil and the London Transport System, two companies that had artistically progressive sensibilities. He worked for Shell both before and after the war, creating such intriguing surrealist images as Journalists - These Men Use Shell (see Swann sale 2001 lot 68). For London Transport, he redesigned their logo and created numerous campaigns. This is one of those campaigns, from a series of at least five images, warning the British public to be safe when travelling in the dark wartime blackouts. MoMA 57.1945.