Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung Berlin 1911

Lucian Bernhard (born as Emil Kahn) was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer and artist. Mostly a self-taught artist, he did study briefly at the Akademie in Munich. Bernhard worked as a poster designer and art director for magazines in Berlin and was a propaganda artist during the First World War. In 1920 he became a professor at the Akademie der Künste and in 1923 he emigrated to New York, where he opened the Contempora Studio. Later in life Bernhard worked primarily as a painter and sculptor. Bernhard was influential in creating the design style known as “Plakatstil” (Poster Style). He used reductive imagery and flat-colour as well as “Sachplakat” (object poster) which restricted the image to simply the object being advertised and the brand name. This poster is for the Berlin International Motor Show (IAA), one of the largest and most important international automotive trade fairs which until 1939 was primarily held in Berlin. It was first organized in 1897. The message in the poster is quite clearly an open and clear invitation to visit the 1911 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung in Berlin. Printing House Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin N 65