Poster Art 150 – London Underground’s Greatest Designs opens today at the London Transport Museum and will showcase 150 of the greatest Underground posters ever produced. Supported by Siemens, and forming part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the London Underground, the exhibition will feature posters by many famous artists including Edward McKnight Kauffer and Paul Nash, and designs from each decade over the last 100 years.

Chosen from an overwhelming collection of 3,300 posters in the Museum’s archive, the posters were selected by a panel of experts. The final 150 that appear in the exhibition represent the range and depth of the Museum’s collection. Visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite poster in the gallery and also online in The Siemens Poster Vote. The most popular poster will be revealed at the end of the exhibition.

As part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the world’s first underground railway, Poster Art 150 is the first Underground poster retrospective since the 1963 celebrations for the centenary. Well-known posters, including the surrealist photographer Man Ray’s Keeps London Going pair, will feature alongside lesser-known gems. The exhibition will also offer a rare opportunity to view letter-press posters from the late nineteenth century, and will be split up into six themes; Finding your way, Brightest London, Capital Culture, Away from it all, Keeps London Going and Love your city.

Credits
1. Tate Modern, by Paul Catherall, 2003 London Transport Museum © Transport for London.
2. Brightest London is best reached by Underground, by Horace Taylor, 1924 (1), London Transport Museum © Transport for London.
3. Uxbridge, by Charles Paine, 1921, London Transport Museum © Transport for London.
4. The lure of the Underground, by Alfred Leete, 1927, London Transport Museum © Transport for London.