Political Posters

Politics and poster art have a long relationship that began in the early 1900’s, when the age of modern art was just beginning to flourish. In general, political posters were used for recruiting, motivating, persuading, and informing the public about its country’s involvement in civil and international war.

Poster art had only recently developed in Europe during the latter stages of the 19th Century, due in large part to the advent of color printing techniques that made mass marketing and distribution possible for the first time. It wasn’t long before advertisers and promoters found this inexpensive form of communication quite useful in spreading the word about causes and events.

In turn, popular artists like Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Albert Guillaume, Alphonse Mucha, and Jules Chéret were inspired by this new style of media and soon became its early innovators. As military forces in neighbouring countries became more opportunistic, political posters became a natural progression for the art form.

This section contains many popular images from the 20th century, spanning decades of armed conflict and social upheaval, when a series of cultural revolutions and World Wars swiftly and completely changed the political landscape. In particular, Russian, Chinese, American, and English political posters are dominant here, since these were the countries generating the most vocal propaganda at the time.

Viewing these political posters provides an insight into emerging philosophies and cultures in America, Europe, Asia, and the Far East. The differences between these societies are evident in the images and language used to highlight the values of one form of government as superior to the other.

Monarchies were giving way to republics, and the force for change came increasingly from the working class, where scores of citizens grew impatient with long-trusted kings and queens who claimed to act in their best interests, but contributed little success.

Spend time browsing this section to gain a perspective on modern world history – its people, its philosophies, its common themes. Here you’ll find stunning graphic reproductions of artwork that communicates how changing societies emerged during the previous century. Collecting political posters helps us better understand our heritage and how independent nations emerged by communicating their changing ideals through posters and propaganda.