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Image Not Available for Follow the Sun, Austraila 150th Anniversary Celebrations Sydney 26th January to 25th April 1938
Follow the Sun, Austraila 150th Anniversary Celebrations Sydney 26th January to 25th April 1938
Image Not Available for Follow the Sun, Austraila 150th Anniversary Celebrations Sydney 26th January to 25th April 1938

Follow the Sun, Austraila 150th Anniversary Celebrations Sydney 26th January to 25th April 1938

Artist (Australian, 1903 - 1976)
Artist (Australian - German, 1901 - 1970)
Date1938
Object number00008653
NamePoster
MediumColour lithograph on paper
DimensionsOverall: 1 x 663 mm, 1.75 kg
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis travel poster by was produced in 1938 by the Australian National Travel Association to advertise international travel to Australia and promote Australia's 150th Anniversary celebrations. Beach scenes with tanned and happy Australians were popular subjects for the poster artists whose mission was to tempt travellers to visit Australia. Artists working for the Australian National Travel Association commonly used scenes of popular iconic beaches to promote travel. HistoryAustralia held sesquicentennial celebrations in Sydney during 1938 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the city and foundation of British settlement in Australia in 1788. These celebrations were scheduled to take place over a three month period – between Australia Day, 26 January and Anzac Day, 25 April. The Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) was formed in 1929 to promote Australia as a tourist destination around the world through advertising. To communicate its message to a world that knew little of Australia, the ANTA produced posters with striking imagery and simple slogans representing Australia as a desirable tourist destination. Posters were the main promotional medium for the ANTA, which developed an extensive network overseas with representatives in England, the United States, New Zealand, Canada, India, China, Japan and France. Gert Sellheim, (1901-1970) born in Estonia, studied architecture in Berlin. He migrated to Australia in 1926 and began producing travel posters in 1931. Sellheim designed many iconic posters that represented Australian culture and society in the 1930s and 1940s. He was also the designer of the famous Aboriginal two shilling stamp in 1948 and the flying kangaroo logo for Qantas. 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 - with the beach being one of the major attractions. The poster commemorates the sesquicentennial celebrations in Sydney during 1938 and represents the work of Gert Selheim, one of the Australia's best known poster artists. Selheim's travel poster has become a popular and recognisable image of Australia in the 1930s.