Edward McKnight Kauffer
Adapted knowledge of modern painting to design
Designed radical posters incorporating Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism
Helped establish the discipline of graphic design in England
Edward McKnight Kauffer was forn in Montana but it was Chicago that opened his artistic eyes where the famous Armory Show introduced American patrons to European avant-garde art. Inspired, he travelled abroad to study. He saw the influential poster work of Ludwig Hohlwein in Germany, study painting in Paris, and launched his career in advertising design in London.
Frank Pick, an administrator for the London Underground, became an important client for Kauffer. Pick was a strong supporter of modern design and believed in its commercial value. At a time when the Underground was known for generating pollution, Pick and Kauffer began a bold campaign to give the transit system a more positive reputation by creating a series of travel posters that focused on the system's interesting destinations. Throughout their lengthy collaboration, Kauffer designed more than 100 posters for Pick.
In 1919, Kauffer submitted work for a poster to promote London newspaper The Daily Herald. To illustrate the tagline "Soaring to Success! Daily Herald—The Early Bird," he used his 1916 painting Flight, a dynamically radical interpretation of birds flying that looked like it was inspired by Japanese prints. In the painting, Kauffer married his own observations of birds in flight with a heavy dose of influence from Futurists, as well as the Vorticists, a movement of British avant-garde abstract artist who idolized machines and speed. The poster went on to become an icon of Kauffer's work, and it led to commissions for a book covers, interiors, store windows, theater sets, photo murals, and rugs.
Kauffer was smart and sophisticated, and he understood that he needed to build friendly relationships with clients to get the best results. Frank Pick and Shell-Mex Oil's Jack Beddington agreed with him philosophically. But most clients didn't automatically embrace Kauffer's radical views on modernism, so he gently prodded of them to get the best design solution. In addition to socializing with clients, he was part of London's art and literary scenes, hanging out with people like T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf.
After building an influential advertising career in London, Kauffer from moved to New York in 1940. It didn't go well. His symbolic designs with minimal text were popular among museum set, but not yet accepted in the conservative world of American commerical advertising. He became restless and lost his confidence when faced with the competitive scene in New York, and died in 1954.
