The Subway Sun: A Discussion with the Curator

Poster House had the opportunity to catch up with our Assistant Curator of Collections, Es-pranza Humphrey, to get the backstory on her exhibition From the Bronx to the Battery: The Subway Sun, on view from April 24 to November 2, 2025. Read on for the full conversation!

Poster House: What was it about Fred Cooper’s Subway Sun posters of the 1930s that inspired you to create this exhibition?

Es-pranza Humphrey: I’m a New York City kid, and I always enjoyed trips into the city from the Bronx with my parents and my sister. My father would take us to cool art installations in the East Village, Chelsea, and other parts of Lower Manhattan while my mother would enroll us in art classes on the Upper East Side and take us shopping near Union Square. The city is exciting and its history is endless; I saw these posters as a way to give some historical context to the sites we see every day. The posters also help us understand how unique the subway system is in New York City. We sometimes forget that it was built to meet the needs of a diverse population of New Yorkers. The subway was profoundly democratic in this way and I think the posters show this by alluding to the ease and affordability of travel to a range of notable destinations.

As for Fred Cooper, his designs are so playful and I also appreciate his lettering work. He knew a lot about New York City and presented this knowledge in a series of humorous “cartoonettes” which would certainly have enticed me onto the subway in the 1930s. Because of this exhibition and Cooper’s designs, I actually started to do more research on lettering!

PH: Which of Fred Cooper’s posters did not make the final cut for the exhibition?

EH: There were a few Subway Sun posters that didn’t make the final cut for different reasons. One of them, for example, has a small advertisement at the bottom and shows a man in a tricorn hat ringing a bell accompanied by the words “Buy Christmas Seals.” The poster is red and the larger image features Cooper’s cartoonish figures dressed in winter coats walking from the IRT into the doors of a theater. 

The only reason this poster didn’t make the cut was because the imagery and holiday reference gave it a wintery feel but the show will be on display during the spring and summer months.

PH: Are there any locations featured in the posters that no longer exist but that you wish you could visit today?

EH: Interestingly enough, all of the locations featured in the posters are still around today! However, one poster makes a reference to the New York Crystal Palace, a huge exhibition building made of glass and iron that was located in today’s Bryant Park from 1853 to 1858, when it burned down. I wish I could visit the Crystal Palace today because from the accounts I have read, it was spectacular.

PH: Which poster do you find the most visually striking and why?

EH: I love the purple poster that features a couple walking into The Cloisters. Cooper’s great when he does his “cartoonettes” but he’s also great when he takes a more illustrational approach and I think this poster is a good example of his artistic versatility. I also think that the color purple adds a sense of regal splendor to the poster, and perhaps that was the intention.

PH: Are there any modern day MTA subway in-car ads you find appealing?

EH: Yes! I won’t mention the brand but years ago I used to get excited to see the in-car posters that showed the inside of an apartment building; each unit featured an illustrated archetype of the person or people who lived inside. There was so much detail in these designs but they were also effective because they played on things that most New York City residents can relate to. It was the last time I remember keeping myself busy by only looking at an in-car ad during a full train ride.

PH: What is your favorite New York City location to visit?

EH: The New York Botanical Garden will always have a special place in my heart because I was born and raised in the Bronx and it was a weekend family activity to go there and learn about plants, gardening, and so on. I also appreciated learning through my research for the exhibition about the trains that would take people to the Bronx because the subway system in that borough is not the easiest to navigate. It was reassuring to see that as early as the 1930s, there was an effort to get New Yorkers, tourists, and nature lovers to see the beauty of the Bronx.

PH: What podcasts, books, and/or documentaries would you recommend that relate to the exhibition?

EH: The City Beneath Us: Building the New York Subway was the first book I read when I began my research on the exhibition so that I could understand the origins of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. 

The Bowery Boys Podcast is great for many reasons but especially for the way it provides information in an entertaining way about most (if not all) of the locations mentioned in the exhibition. Also, Greg Young reviewed the exhibition text for the show.

There are a lot of good documentaries on the subway system and historic New York City locations. But I would prefer to recommend the movie musical On the Town, partially shot on location in the city in 1949, because it inspired the title of the show!