Stylish and Affordable Home Decor with Vintage Travel Poster Art (by Ren Brabenec)
“Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.” -Amy Lowell
We often find it tricky to nail down our feelings and emotions about vintage travel poster art. But that quote by Amy Lowell is a good start. Anderson Design Group was created to foster a collective of artists dedicated to preserving the traditions of vintage travel poster art. Joel Anderson spearheaded the mission, starting the design firm in his attic with a business partner in 1993. Since then, our group has grown to include several artists from different backgrounds. But there’s one thing that we all have in common, and that’s our love for vintage art.
The Different Types of Vintage Art
It’s not always easy to define vintage art. A broad definition could mean any artwork made in a style that was popular long ago. Other definitions refer to commercial artwork created between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. When referencing vintage art styles, some would point to Art Deco, Mod Art, Works Progress Administration (WPA) art, mid 20th-century magazine covers, early-1900s travel posters and advertisements, pulp fiction illustrations, etc.
The Anderson Design Group National Parks Collection is a good representation of what vintage artwork looks like. These vintage National Park posters were handcrafted with inspiration drawn from the WPA-commissioned artwork of the early-1900s. That era was aptly titled the Golden Age of Illustration. In our National Parks collection, we created unique, retro travel posters of each National Park. From the forested valleys and the steep, rocky slopes of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the verdant marshlands of Everglades National Park, this collection is replete with handcrafted, retro travel posters of each of the 61 American National Parks.
Every illustration was envisioned, drawn, lettered, and colored by our award-winning artists here at Anderson Design Group. And because we believe that the magic of art comes from the inspiration behind the artwork, we often travel to the National Parks themselves, all so we can see and experience the incredible natural wonders that each park has to offer.
Vintage Wall Art – Affordable for the First Time
From our National Park art to our World Travel, American Travel, and American State Pride artwork, all through the rest of our unique vintage poster collections, our artwork combines the magic and wonder of century-old art styles with modern printing technology. And what’s more, art enthusiasts can decorate their homes in vintage artwork at an affordable price point.
To buy a vintage travel poster made in the early-1900s, one will likely have to spend several hundred, sometimes thousands of dollars. Vintage wall art that is still in good condition is quite scarce, hence the high price. However, Anderson Design Group is bringing the magic, the nostalgia, and the pure romance of vintage art into peoples’ homes at an affordable price point.
Decorating with vintage poster art usually means purchasing several posters, perhaps a few retro, metal signs, and possibly a large canvas banner to serve as a room’s centerpiece. A framed, vintage postcard looks excellent on any mantle or desk, and a refined vintage-looking canvas can be a great addition to an office or study. All of our artwork comes in at reasonable price points. That allows families to afford several vintage art pieces easily, rather than breaking the bank on one, genuine, original vintage piece.
Our art prints can be grabbed up for as low as $16.99 a pop, and our canvas banners are a steal at $49.99. Our rugged metal signs start at $39.99, and you can order a set of notecards or postcards of your choice for about $15.00. This is vintage wall art, affordable for the first time!
Retro Art is Perfect for Home Decor, Office Glam, and Holiday Gifts!
Retro wall art and vintage posters: this type of art style is unlike any other, and it speaks to us loud and clear. Perhaps what we like most about our Anderson Design Group posters is how these hand-rendered illustrations seem to fit in with so many interior design styles. We’ve had customers send us pictures of our National Park posters in houses, cabins, office buildings, modern-style homes, lake houses, farmhouses, apartment buildings, guest rooms, vacation rentals, camper trailers, and even tree houses!
Retro art is often synonymous with travel art, as the modernization of rail, automobile, and air travel in the mid-1900s (as well as the installation of the interstate system), made traveling across America more feasible. All of a sudden, towns and cities were flooded with travel posters and advertisements.
Americans took to the roads, eager to explore all that the U.S. (and even the world) had to offer. At Anderson Design Group, our World Travel and American Travel collections embody the artwork of that period; when civilization shifted and Americans could travel with relative ease. If you have an avid traveler or wanderlust-filled friend or family member in your life, our retro artwork makes the perfect gift this holiday season.
What Vintage Artwork Means to Us
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, our team often finds it difficult to put our collective finger on precisely what vintage artwork means to us. I guess it’s a combination of a few things. Vintage artwork brings out nostalgia and a sort of warm, fuzzy feeling. Retro art reminds us of the artistic side of human nature and how humankind has been making art for centuries. This art style reminds us of how art was done before the advent of cameras and computers.
Vintage artwork has a special significance for us. We feel it is essential to protect and preserve the art styles of our ancestors. Technology has enabled us to reproduce our artwork on incredible, gallery-grade papers, canvases, and other mediums. But we don’t want to get so swept up in technology that we lose sight of the Golden Age of Illustration, so we still make all of our original artwork by hand.
Our art team lives and works through vintage art, every day, here at the studio. But I guess you could also say that vintage artwork lives and works through us too, as we’ll always endeavor to preserve it for generations to come.
What do you see when you look at vintage artwork?
Until next time,
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Writing Staff
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