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Victorian Railways Travel Poster, Gert Sellheim, (Estonia,…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
14-Jun-2020
Lot No.
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Description:
Victorian Railways Travel Poster, Gert Sellheim, (Estonia, Australia, 1901-1970). Visit the Seaside. Travel By Train, c1930s colour process lithograph, signed in image lower left, 101 x 63 cm. Linen-backed. Text continues 'Victorian Railways Australia. Poster no. 165. Take a Kodak.', Estonian born, Sellheim studied architecture in Berlin, Munich and Gratz before travelling to London in the 1920s. He migrated to Australia arriving in Fremantle in January 1926. After a year of labouring work in rural WA he gained employment as a site architect at the University of Western Australia. In 1930 Sellheim moved to Melbourne where he set up his own architectural practice and began designing and exhibiting posters. His designs were unusual for the times. With bold use of photomontage, drawings and the juxtaposition of hand-lettering and commercial type text they were at the cutting edge of graphic design. In 1939 he was commissioned to decorate the Government tourist Bureau in Melbourne, producing a large scale mural using flat colour and photomontage. This work was awarded the 1939 Sulman Prize. From the 1940s Sellheim created posters for Qantas Empire Airways, including the distinctive flying kangaroo logo. He was also noted for his interest in Aboriginal art and he incorporated Aboriginal-derived motifs frequently in his work. During World War II Sellheim was classified by Australian authorities as an 'enemy alien' and was sent to an internment camp in Victoria in 1943. After intervention from his family he was released to do military work. Ironically he was sent to work on the conversion of metric to imperial measurements of armaments. Sellheim's beach inspired travel posters are important examples of how beach culture archetypes have been adopted by Australian Government departments and agencies to market Australia as a tourist and migrant destination.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified