Maitres De L'Affiche - Pl 32 The July Century

This image was an integral part of the Maitres de L'Affiche series of posters created for a subscription audience in the late 1890's. It showcased the most influential posters of the era in a collectible small format.

This particular image was created by the American artist Charles Woodbury for the publication The July Century. The clarity of the design demonstrates the Japanese influence in Woodbury's image. Its simplicity was very much against the trend of poster designs of the era.

Charles H. Woodbury was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, where his earliest work was part of the oeuvre of the group later known as the Lynn Beach Painters. While an undergraduate at MIT he became a regular exhibitor at, and at 19 the youngest member of, the Boston Art Club . After graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (with degree in Mechanical Engineering), in 1886 Woodbury had great success painting up the New England coast and in the towns and beaches of Nova Scotia and exhibiting the results. From January to June 1891 he was a pupil of the Académie Julian in Paris, after which he went to Holland, where he studied the techniques of the modern Dutch painters. Upon his return to New England he settled in Boston for his winter studio and spent his summers in the small fishing village of Ogunquit, Maine; there he founded one of the most successful of the summer art colony schools that even survived his death. He was one of the most sought-after teachers of his generation, having begun teaching on a regular basis while a freshman at M.I.T. Ironically, he had little formal training himself other than a few months of classes at the Academy Julian in Paris. Like Winslow Homer, another New England painter with an affinity for summers in Maine, he preferred "to work out his salvation with little help from others in his profession". Nevertheless, Woodbury maintained a close friendship with John Singer Sargent and a pleasant acquaintance with many of his contemporaries including J. Alden Weir and Childe Hassam.

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is printed on heavyweight paper. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.