General joy
Poster
1928 (printed)
1928 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This poster was issued by the London General Omnibus Company. Vera Willoughby (died 1939) was a watercolour painter and illustrator, as well as a costume and poster designer. The design in this poster emphasises the joyous combination of speed, freedom and sunshine on a summer-day excursion on London's open-topped double-decker buses. Willoughby's work was inspired by 18th century decoration and influenced by Art Deco. But she was also a keen observer of the contemporary social scene and its fashions.
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Art Deco printmakers
The Art Deco design movement touched every creative medium from roughly 1910 to 1940, and prints and posters of the age were no exception. Ultimately about pleasure and modernity, the style widely reflected themes of fast-paced city life and featured bold geometric forms.
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | General joy (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | Poster by Vera Willoughby, 'General Joy', advertising the London General Omnibus Company, colour lithograph, Great Britain, 1928 |
| Physical description | A colour lithograph poster advertising the London General Omnibus Company. The poster depicts a stylised image of a red open-topped double-decker bus filled with people. At the top of the poster the words 'General Joy' are written. Behind the letter 'G' the sun is illustrated emanating thick rays of light through which flies a flock of swallows. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by the Underground Electric Railways Co. of London Ltd. Reproduced courtesy of the London Transport Museum |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This poster was issued by the London General Omnibus Company. Vera Willoughby (died 1939) was a watercolour painter and illustrator, as well as a costume and poster designer. The design in this poster emphasises the joyous combination of speed, freedom and sunshine on a summer-day excursion on London's open-topped double-decker buses. Willoughby's work was inspired by 18th century decoration and influenced by Art Deco. But she was also a keen observer of the contemporary social scene and its fashions. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1928. London: HMSO, 1929 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.940-1928 |
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| Record created | February 14, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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