MoMA: Understanding Through Art
Unidentified Designer
Japanese
c.1955
A Japanese‑language lithographic poster that uses photography, bold red fields, and crisp type to promote MoMA’s idea of “understanding through art” and invite audiences to visit the museum.
You’re struck by the high-contrast layout: a monumental black‑and‑white photograph of the museum’s modern façade with vertical English signage, paired with smaller interior and rooftop scenes and set against vivid red‑orange panels and assertive Japanese typography.
Dating to about 1955, the image exemplifies mid‑century modernist graphic design and MoMA’s postwar role in cultural diplomacy, turning architecture and photographs into a clear, persuasive argument for modern art abroad.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
20 3/4 × 16 5/8" (52.7 × 42.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Anonymous gift
Accession
948.2015
Palette
Exhibitions
