American Graphics
Ivan Chermayeff
American, born England 1932–2017
Thomas Geismar
American, born 1931
Bruce Blackburn
American, 1938–2021
1964
A 1964 offset lithograph poster by Ivan Chermayeff that promotes American graphic design to a Russian-speaking audience by turning a pen nib into a flag-clad human silhouette, using concise pictorial wit to convey identity and purpose.
A stark black field is dominated by a single, flat icon—a nib-shaped figure striped in red and white with a blue, star-spangled head—whose high-contrast simplicity and bold Russian headline make the image feel immediate and emblematic.
An emblem of midcentury modern graphic design and cultural diplomacy, the poster shows how Chermayeff’s reductive icons and national symbolism translated visual language across borders and helped define a globally legible commercial aesthetic during the Cold War.
Medium
Offset lithograph
Dimensions
33 x 24" (83.8 x 60.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired by exchange
Accession
351.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
