General Dynamics - Building Materials

This original vintage poster, titled Building Materials, was created by Erik Nitsche in 1960 for General Dynamics and its Material Service division. Nitsche uses a geometric grid of vertical and horizontal forms to suggest the structural components and building materials supplied by the company. The strong black framework and blocks of yellow, red, blue and gray show the influence of De Stijl and the abstract compositions of Piet Mondrian.General Dynamics was formed in 1952 as the parent company of the Electric Boat Company and several other U.S. defense and technology businesses. During the 1950s and 1960s, the company expanded into aerospace, shipbuilding, electronics, nuclear technology and other industrial fields. Material Service Corporation, founded in Chicago in 1919 as a supplier of sand, gravel and other construction materials, became part of General Dynamics in 1959.Building Materials belongs to Nitsche's later series of General Dynamics posters promoting the company's individual divisions and products. Rather than illustrating construction materials literally, Nitsche transformed the subject into an architectural arrangement of lines, grids and geometric shapes. The poster is considered one of the scarcer designs in the General Dynamics series.Erik Nitsche (1908–1998) was a Swiss-born graphic designer who moved to the United States in 1934. In 1955 he became Art Director for General Dynamics and developed the company's corporate identity, advertising, annual reports and celebrated series of posters. His General Dynamics work combined Swiss Modernist graphic design with imagery drawn from contemporary science, industry and technology and remains among his best-known work.This poster was printed in Switzerland by Roger Marsens of Lausanne. An example of Building Materials is held in the collection of the Library of Congress.This is an Original Vintage Poster, it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all our posters.