Paula Scher Public Theater Poster 1994 Original Vintage Silkscreen Pentagram Graphic Design 30x46

HIM

Christopher Walken + Public Theater poster

This poster is a part of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's permanent collection and was featured in the 2015 exhibition How Posters Work. Paula Scher is the recipient of the 2013 National Design Award for Communication Design.

Paula Scher (1948– ) stands as one of the most influential graphic designers of the last half-century. Rising to prominence through her early album cover work, Scher became known for her bold, expressive typographic voice—an approach that would eventually reshape the visual language of contemporary design. Since 1991, she has been a partner at Pentagram in New York, where her identity systems for major cultural institutions and global brands have become touchstones of modern design.

In 1994, Scher was invited by the director of The Public Theater to create the season’s posters—an invitation that launched one of the most iconic collaborations in American graphic design. Her work for The Public drew heavily from American wood type and the energetic visual grammar of Russian Constructivism, especially the cinematic posters of Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg. The result: a striking typographic system built from bold, flat color, dynamic diagonals, and a distinctly American swagger. That single season became the foundation for The Public’s now-legendary graphic identity.

This piece is an original vintage silkscreen poster, produced for The Public—not a reprint or reproduction.

Silkscreen
30 x 46 in. (76 x 117 cm)