CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (PART I) -- THE LURE OF SUNSHINE & VINTAGE TRAVEL POSTERS: There was a time when people flocked to the offices of travel agencies (seeing as how there weren't personal computers or the internet back in the 1950s and '60s) and all about them were large and gloriously bold travel posters covering the travel agency walls -- each one enticing prospective travelers with their colorful promises of adventure, exotic delights and most of all: lots and lots of sunshine and beautiful people. A handful of poster artists created this tempting world that just couldn't be resisted -- artists such as Bob Smith and his many posters for the now-defunct TWA airlines (shown above) and Stan Galli who designed sun-soaked gems for United Airlines (shown at lower right). Smith and Galli, along with other artists David Klein and a gentleman simply known as Boyle, actually created perceptions of what travel destinations would be like by the way in which they portrayed the locales -- using bright Impressionistic and Fauve-inspired colors, iconic imagery such as historic sites, smiling people and idyllic landscapes, plus simple but dramatic illustrative renderings that capture the essence of the destinations with the most basic shapes and compositions -- after all, these posters were meant to be appreciated from afar in their travel agency settings or airport terminals -- thus details are not of as much importance as the overall scheme. But therein lies the inherent beauty of vintage travel posters -- they evoke a time and place....and a feeling that there are indeed places so beautiful and transformative that they must be had. And so, back in the day, travelers flocked to such sunny climes as Southern California in search of fun under the lemon-yellow skies of L.A., Hollywood and all parts surrounding them: the beaches, the Spanish missions, the groves of oranges and of course anyplace filled with that most important of element for travel destinations and travel posters: palm trees (as witnessed in the two posters shown above). Though posters no longer hold a special place in promoting the travel industry as they once did, they certainly hold a special place in the visual history of illustrative art for sure. So, if you're yearning for a sun-filled vacation while still staying at home, there's nothing like fabulous vintage travel poster to take you to another time and place....
