MODERN ART 5,000 YEARS AGO . . .
Lester Beall [Design and Typography]
Lester Beall [Design and Typography]: MODERN ART 5,000 YEARS AGO . . . New York City: MoMA, 1947. First edition. A good or better staple bound booklet with thick printed wrappers and minor shelf wear including a tear on the front cover and slight soiling to the interior. Otherwise, interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print. 9 x 11.25 staple bound booklet with 84 pages with 16 well-illustrated pages. The booklet was originally intended to raise funds for MoMA to expand. An addendum [3.5 x 8.5 white piece of paper] stapled to the center spread explains: "Because of mounting costs of construction and operation, the Trustees of the Museum of Modern Art have decided to postpone plans for the erection of a new wing and give priority in the present fund raising campaign to obtaining contributions to the Museum's program activities and development." The museum's first significant expansion occurred in 1949-51 when Philip Johnson redesigned the Grace Rainey Rogers Annex. Beautifully designed piece with Beall panache to spare.
Lester Beall (1903 -1969) was way ahead of his time -- a Midwestern Constructivist! Self-taught in graphic design, Beall understood the varied tongues and aesthetic ideologies of the European avant-garde. His early work shows constructivist and Bauhaus influences tempered with a Missourians' sense of control. In 1937, Beall became the first American designer to have a one man show at the Museum of Modern Art, featuring his silk-screened posters commissioned by the Rural Electrification Administration. After WWII, Beall exhibited great talent for communicating ideas and elevating the taste and expectations of his corporate clients -- always working with the idea that good design should be effective communication and good business.
Spreads from this volume can be viewed here.
Price: $75.00
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