E. McKnight Kauffer

1890 - 1954

Edward McKnight Kauffer studied in evening classes at the Mark Hopkins Institute in San Francisco and spent six months at the Chicago Institute of Art. He was first exposed to modern European Art at the Armory Show (1913) in Chicago. It was after this show that he was sponsored by Professor McKnight of the University of Utah to study painting in Paris. Kauffer took McKnight's name out of gratitude.

In 1914, he went to England and remained there until 1940. While in England he made his name as a poster artist. His first commissions were for the London Underground. The publicity manager, Frank Pick was instrumental in distributing the creative and artistic designs by Kauffer. Inspired by the artistic movements of the day, Futurism, Cubism, Art Deco and Surrealism, Kauffer created hundreds of posters for the London Underground, Shell, British Petroleum and Eastman and Sons. He also designed several book jackets and illustrations for the Nonesuch Press and Faber and Guyer. In 1930, he became Art Director of the publishing house Lund & Humphries. In 1937, the Museum of Modern Art held a one man show of his work. He returned to the United States in 1940 and did work for Greek War Relief, the US Treasury, American Airlines, the NY Subway, Alfred A. Knopf, the Container Corporation of America and the New York Times. He received the AIGA medal in 1991.