BP Ethyl Controls Horse-Power
Poster
1933 (issued)
1933 (issued)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is a poster for British Petroleum. In the 1930s BP used more Modernist work for its posters, in particular that by Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954). Kauffer used photomontage, dynamic rectangles and asymmetrical lettering to emphasise power and movement. In this poster he combined his own night photograph of the statues in the Place de la Concorde in Paris with a flash of lightning against a black background. This was to highlight the anti-knock properties of BP ethyl, a substance added to motor fuel to prevent loud reports. Kenneth Clark (1903-1983), then Director of the National Gallery in London, praised Shell and BP as ‘Among the best patrons of modern art’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | BP Ethyl Controls Horse-Power (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | 'BP Ethyl Anti-knock Controls Horse-Power'. Colour lithograph poster designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer. Issued by the Great Western Railway, Great Britain, 1933. |
| Physical description | Colour lithograph poster advertising BP Ethyl. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Acquired from Adrian Tilbrook in 1971. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is a poster for British Petroleum. In the 1930s BP used more Modernist work for its posters, in particular that by Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954). Kauffer used photomontage, dynamic rectangles and asymmetrical lettering to emphasise power and movement. In this poster he combined his own night photograph of the statues in the Place de la Concorde in Paris with a flash of lightning against a black background. This was to highlight the anti-knock properties of BP ethyl, a substance added to motor fuel to prevent loud reports. Kenneth Clark (1903-1983), then Director of the National Gallery in London, praised Shell and BP as ‘Among the best patrons of modern art’. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 22/B8 - V&A microfiche |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.317-1971 |
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| Record created | February 14, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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