Shell Art Advertising [Hardcover]

Exploring Shell's remarkable advertising archive, which includes an extensive poster collection, as well as film, cartoon graphics and guidebooks, this book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the company's artistic heritage. The key contributions made by some major artists and designers including Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, Ben Nicholson and Edward McKnight Kauffer are highlighted and beautifully reproduced from original archive material, and broader questions are explored, such as Shell's position within contemporary debates regarding the aesthetics of 'Commercial Art'. By delving into the ways in which Shell's publicity was conceived, commissioned and disseminated in the 20th century, the authors examine the historical and social contexts of Shells advertising and assess the work's broader cultural significance in shaping an era defined by travel, prosperity and mass democracy.Featuring a wealth of beautiful reproductions from Shell's extensive archive,Shell Art & Advertisingpositions the company's artistic heritage within a historic and social context.Scott Anthonyis a writer and historian. His books includeNight Mail(2007),The Projection of Britain(2011) andThe Story of Propaganda(2021).Nicky Balfour Penney(contributor) is the Shell Heritage Art Collection Manager.?Oliver Greenis former Head Curator and now Research Fellow at the London Transport Museum and a freelance historian and museums consultant. His publications includeLondons Underground: The Story of the Tube(2019) andBritish Aviation Posters: Art, Design and Flight(2012).Margaret Timmerswas formerly Senior Curator of Prints in the Word & Image Department of the V&A. She is the editor ofThe Power of the Poster(1998) and co-editor with Gill Saunders ofThe Poster: A Visual History(2020).
Foreword, David Gentleman; Introduction - The Spirit of Advertising, Nicky Balfour Penney; It Started wil³,