… elephants (as suggested by @JoMurricane. Thanks Jo!)
This poster used to adorn the big wall halfway up our stairs. I saw it at the London Transport museum and instantly fell in love with it. Something about the colours and style of it just grabbed my attention.
I’ve struggled to find out any information about the man who painted this – he’s done a couple of other posters for the Underground, both for Kew Gardens. The biography on the London Transport Museum site only offers
Maurice A Miles. Designed posters for London Transport 1934
Doesn’t give much away, does it?
The style of art in Miles’ work sort of reminds me of one of my other favourite artists, Edward Hopper. I’m a huge fan of Hopper’s work, but that’s for another post!
There are some other wonderful posters from the London Transport Museum’s Poster Art 150 exhibition to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the world’s first underground railway in this post over at we made this.
As ever, thanks for reading. Who’s your favourite artist? And do you have any suggestions for ‘F is for…’?
Related articles
- In pictures: behind the scenes at the London Transport Museum Depot (now-here-this.timeout.com)
- A Pictorial History of the London Tube and Its Graphic Legacy (brainpickings.org)
- Meet Harry Beck, the genius behind London’s iconic subway map (theverge.com)
espresso coco 
I collect elephants. ..er.. not real ones. When I was house-hunting and I walked into the condo I eventually bought, not only did the previous owner also collect elephants, but I recognized the glorious print on the wall behind her sofa as one called “The Patriarch”. I felt it was a sign that this was the home I was to buy. I did, and I’ve been living here happily for ten years. When the owner and I eventually met, I jokingly suggested that The Patriarch be included in the sale of the condo, but alas, she declined. Anyway, I love your zoo poster. That too, would look splendid in my living room. I never did get around to buying an elephant print to put there, maybe I need to start looking again.
It’s a shame she didn’t include the picture in the sale. You should definitely keep an eye out for an elephant print though.
I’ve often wondered, what’s a condo? I know that it’s short for condominium, but am not sure how (or if) that differs from an apartment?
Basically, a condominium is an apartment that you buy, just like you would buy a house. You own the space inside, and you pay maintenance (homeowner’s association dues) on all the common areas, hallways, driveways, landscaping, and the outside of the building. The drawbacks are that you usually share walls with other condo owners. But if you live in a solidly made building and have nice neighbors, you rarely hear the other building residents. The primary advantage to “association-maintained housing” is that you never have to shovel snow, or mow grass, or any other basic maintenance typical to house owners. As we look towards another six to ten inches of snow tonight, the thought of not having to shovel my driveway makes me smile.
My favourite artists are Van Gogh (long before Vincent And The Doctor!) and Dali. I just love the concepts they use, the colours… also the insanity of each painting.
ooh, both excellent choices.