4 October 2007 - 30 March 2008, free admission

Alfred Leete Britons. Join Your Country’s Army! 1914

Featuring hundreds of the most eye-catching and iconic posters from the Museum’s international collection, this major exhibition explores the influence of advertising and publicity on government propaganda and policy, from the First World War onwards. It also charts the poster’s evolution as a tool of protest and counter-culture, incorporating powerful anti-Vietnam designs of the 1960s and 1970s and more recent material from the Iraq War demonstrations.

The exhibition examines the nature of propaganda and outdoor advertising, exploring how posters communicate visually and persuade and influence in conflict. Iconic First World War designs such as Alfred Leete’s Kitchener recruitment poster displayed alongside previously unseen works by pioneering graphic artists such as Julius Gipkens, Ludwig Hohlwein and Abel Faivre, reveal how during the First World War the poster was transformed from a commercial advertising medium to a tool of government propaganda.

Julius Gipkens Delka – German Air-War Trophies Exhibition 1917

During the Second World War poster propaganda was used to define values, ideologies and visions of society. Nazi posters envisaged an ethnically pure new order in Germany and occupied Europe. British posters portrayed unique visions of the past, present and future to maintain morale and the war effort. Pioneering designs, by artists like Abram Games are infused with a promise of post-war rebirth and the welfare state.

The Cold War arms race reinvigorated poster design and the medium took centre stage within post-war counterculture. The exhibition will explore how posters became the face and voice of anti-Vietnam, peace and anti-nuclear protest with iconic and often controversial designs such as Stop Nuclear Suicide by FHK Henrion, which was banned on the London Underground and No Cruise Missiles Here created by renowned designer Peter Kennard for the Labour Party in 1980.

Arturo Ballester Hail to the Heroes! 1936-39

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the protest poster was commercialised with input from design agencies. The exhibition explores the uneasy relationship between protest and advertising, with commercial images and brands subverted to comment upon diverse conflicts. Works on display from this period include recent designs by David Gentleman, Ralph Steadman and Leon Kuhn for the Stop the War Coalition’s Iraq War demonstrations.

An accompanying book written by Dr James Aulich will be published by Thames & Hudson containing over 300 full colour images of posters featured in the exhibition, price £19.95.

David Gentleman (for Stop the War Coalition) No More Lies 2004