Australia

Artist Douglas Annand (Australian, 1903 - 1976)

Publisher Australian National Travel Association

Datec 1937

Object number00015603

NamePoster

MediumPhotolithographic print on paper.

DimensionsOverall: 1053 × 684 mm, 350 g

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis poster advertising travel to Australia features a colour lithographic photomontage of a swimsuit clad woman striding along a beach. The idealised scene with its expansive sky evokes a sense of space and freedom. Beaches were popular subjects for the artists whose mission was to tempt travelers to visit Australia. Artists working for the Australian National Travel Association commonly used imagery emotive of beach culture to promote Australia as a exotic and desirable tourist destination.HistoryThroughout the 20th century, posters were used as a relatively inexpensive, eye catching and easily distributed way of marketing - with the beach featuring as one of the most popular and iconic subjects. This poster promotes travel to Australia by representing Australian beach culture. Beaches were popular themes for the artists working for the Australian National Travel Association. In an effort to place Australia on the world's tourist map the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) was created in 1929. As part of their marketing campaign ANTA distributed thousands of travel posters specifically targeting British and American audiences. By 1934 during the peak period in Australian poster production, ANTA had printed 140,000 posters of which 3,000 were issued overseas. Douglas Annand (1903-1976) was a freelance commercial artist. In 1932 he gained public interest by winning the poster competition for the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was to be a further thirty years before Annand attained similar recognition for his poster designs when in 1959 he was commissioned to produce posters for the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Annand designed posters that represent scenes of Australian culture that captured the international imagination. Annand developed a trademark for producing quick sketches that captured the essence of the subjects he portrayed. SignificanceThis poster is a vivid symbol of an era when Australia undertook an aggressive campaign of promotion. This work was commissioned by the Australian National Travel Association and represents Australia as a desirable tourist destination by evoking popular and iconic images. This poster is representative of the work by poster artist, Douglas Annand.