Spotlight: David Klein’s TWA Posters

David Klein was an American illustrator who is best known for the amazing poster advertisements that he created during the 50s and 60s for TWA (Trans World Airlines).

He was born in Texas, and educated at an art school in California. After serving with the US Army in WWII, he moved to Brooklyn Heights and lived there for the rest of his life. Though he is best remembered today for his travel posters, his work for a theater advertising agency is also very well known and well thought of. You can see more of his window cards for Broadway plays and musicals here.

The first time I really remember noticing his work was on a field trip with my History of Graphic Design class. Our professor Alston Purvis (author of many design history books and son of Melvin Purvis, the FBI Agent recently portrayed in 2009′s Public Enemies!) took us to the International Poster Gallery in Back Bay, Boston, which specializes in vintage posters. The owner showed us their copy of David Klein’s New York TWA Poster, the original of which is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art.

David Klein was also involved in the inaugural Orbitz ad campaign, “Visit Planet Earth.” The 5 posters were designed to mimic the “jet age” look, with retro-simplified imagery, strong geometric shapes, and bright, colorful patterns. I can only find these small thumbnails to share, but you can see all 5 posters here – the one with the giraffes is my favorite!

The most complete collection of his posters (and information on the artist and his work) comes from the website of his estate, though there is also a Wikipedia article about him. Surprisingly, there has not been a lot published about David Klein… I really hope there’s a graduate student somewhere right now working to rectify that deficiency!

Image Credits:

1. Portugal, DC, and Florida TWA Posters via The International Poster Gallery
2. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Poster via Movie Poster Shop; Death of a Salesman Poster via 3-b-s
3. New York TWA Poster via The International Poster Gallery
4. See Planet Earth Orbitz Posters via Ebay (auctions ended/inaccessable)
5. St. Louis TWA Poster via Grain Edit, Africa TWA Poster via The International Poster Gallery, San Francisco TWA Poster via Christie’s