Honoré Daumier Lithographs Victoria & Albert Museum 1976 Poster

Artist: Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879)
Exhibition: Lithographs by Honoré Daumier (Traveling Exhibition)
Organizing Institution: Victoria and Albert Museum (Circulation Dept.), London
Year of Publication: 1976 (Code: 0676)
Graphic Design: Grant Gibson (HMSO)
Printer: Moore & Matthes Ltd. for HMSO
Material: Matte archival poster stock
Technique: Vintage monochrome lithographic offset press
Dimensions: 76.3 x 51 cm / 30.0 x 20.1 in
 
An original mid-sized vintage museum exhibition poster published in June 1976 (indicated by the printer's archival code 0676). This rare collectible was designed and produced for a traveling UK exhibition organized by the historical Circulation Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Officially designed by Grant Gibson for Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and expertly pressed by Moore & Matthes Ltd., the poster celebrates the timeless graphic output of the legendary 19th-century French master Honoré Daumier. 
The poster features a powerful, monochromatic olive-and-charcoal reproduction of one of Daumier’s striking figurative lithographs, portraying a working-class male figure with exceptional structural volume and raw linear strength. Framed by bold, mid-century modernist white typography at the top and bottom borders, this institutional piece exemplifies the elite standards of British public arts graphic design from 1976. Its gritty Realist imagery, rich cultural provenance, and clean composition make it a highly sophisticated and versatile statement piece for minimalist, industrial, or mid-century modern gallery walls. 
 
About the Artist
Honoré Daumier (1808–1879) was a trailblazing French painter, sculptor, and printmaker who stands as one of the most prolific political and social satirists in art history. Producing over 4,000 lithographs for avant-garde Parisian journals like Le Charivari, Daumier wielded his fluid line and rich tonal contrasts to champion the working class and fiercely critique the corrupt French monarchy and bourgeoisie. Celebrated by contemporaries like Balzac—who noted the artist had "a bit of Michelangelo under his skin"—Daumier’s expressive, emotionally candid draftsmanship laid the foundational blueprint for modern Realism and Expressionism.