Posteritati is a gallery dedicated to a 20th-century art form: the movie poster. The wares range from little to large, from recent (2010’s My Dog Tulip) to really old (1937’s The Awful Truth, starring Cary Grant).
Stylistically, they span the movie-genre map, but they all celebrate a marvelous art form spawned by the advent of the motion picture. And since dogs are natural-born stars of the silver screen (witness the brilliant career of Uggie), many of Posteritati’s prime specimens spotlight dogs.
Located in New York City, Posteritati is a worthy destination for serious cinephiles — but if you can’t make it to downtown Manhattan, its more than 9,000 movie posters may be conveniently viewed and purchased online. Simply type “dog” into the search field, and you’ll find page after page of drool-worthy dog art (not to mention a few cool ideas for titles to add to your Netflix queue).
That’s excellent news for dog lovers who may find themselves stumped for a truly memorable holiday gift. How about a movie poster advertising that person’s favorite dog flick? Plus, there’s something for every budget, with poster prices ranging from two to four figures.
Originally intended to just publicize and promote movies, movie posters often outshine the movies they depict, thanks to illustrators and graphic designers who took their job very seriously (sometimes more seriously than the movie’s director did!). Movie-poster art can be so impressive, it can steal the spotlight from the films themselves.
Among the classics, there’s a poster for the original Disney animated version of 101 Dalmatians, along with a 1957 poster of Old Yeller, as well as a 1963 poster for its sequel, Savage Sam.
If you dig Peanuts, it’s neat to see a Japanese take on Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown and an Italian take on Snoopy Come Home called Cane Contestatore — they’re nice reminders of just how universal Schulz’s immortal characters are.
Sometimes, the movie itself is incidental. I consider myself a connoisseur of canine cinema, yet I’d never heard of Challenge to White Fang (aka Il Ritorno di Zanna Bianca). But so what? The poster features such lovely graphic design and such a neat illustration by a Czech artist (movie-poster art from Czechoslovakia happens to be highly collectible) that it hardly matters that I’ve never seen the film.
I think my favorite, though, is the rare 1964 Japanese poster for Sabrina, featuring Audrey Hepburn in high glam mode with a pair of Standard Poodles.
Visit Posteritati on the Web and follow @Posteritati on Twitter.
