Tom Purvis ( June 12, 1888 – August 27, 1959)

Thursday, 10 June 2010

Tomorrow is the birthday of the great British poster artist Tom Purvis. One of my core influences, Purvis worked for the LNER (The London & North Eastern Railway) from 1923 to 1945 producing over 100 posters and defining a graphic style that had a dominant voice in European advertising during the early to mid 20th Century. He rarely used trains in his images, preferring to catch a more personal and intimate aspect of travel. Purvis never wanted to be referred to as an artist, preferring the title “craftsman”, which seemed to fit his approach to art making.

I came across Purvis’ work during my first trip to NYC early in my career. I was scouring old bookstores & poster shops and un-earthed an early reproduction of one of his LNER posters. I was hooked. The elegant, simple mix of composition and draftsmanship connected with something inside of me and I’ve been learning from him ever since. The poster still hangs in my house.