Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery
Castle Street
Carlisle
CA3 8TP

ADMISSION FREE

Many of the most iconic images of mid 20th century Britain were the work of Abram Games (1914-1996), who was the country’s Official War Poster Designer during World War II, and created the emblem for the 1951 Festival of Britain.

For many Britons in the 1950s, Games’ image of Britannia festooned with red, white and blue bunting was as – if not more – evocative of the Festival of Britain and its ‘can do’ spirit than any of the marvels of post-war British manufacturing on show on the pavilions on London’s South Bank. Bold, vigorous and often gently humorous, Abram Games’ graphic art stood out in the austere visual culture of wartime and post-war Britain.

By applying his personal philosophy of ‘maximum meaning, minimum means’ to posters, stamps and advertising campaigns, Games devised an extraordinary collection of distinctive and compelling graphic images. Drawn from his family archive, this important retrospective exhibition traces Abram Games’ career from winning the London County Council poster competition only a few years after quitting art school prematurely, to the enduring images he created for such clients as Guinness, British European Airways, London Transport and the BBC.

Abram Games: Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means is a nationally touring exhibition, originally organised by the Design Museum and toured by the Estate of Abram Games. The launch of the exhibition in 2003 coincided with the publication of a Lund Humphries book of the same name with essays by the designer’s daughter Naomi Games, Catherine Moriarty and June Rose. The book will be available to buy from Tullie House throughout the exhibition, alongside a selection of posters and postcards reproducing some of Abram Games’ most famous designs.

Image copyright The Estate of Abram Games