Leaving the Smoke Behind: Enjoying an Awayday

The majority of the posters in this exhibition date from the Golden Age of London Passenger Transport Board posters, when many artists were commissioned to produce designs, primarily for London Underground and its various connecting networks of tram and bus lines. In this post-World War I era, the overarching concept behind the poster campaigns was to encourage off-peak travel across the wider network through eye-catching, attractive designs, thus driving up revenues for under-utilized lines.

Most of these posters were not advertising the train lines themselves, but featured images focused on pastoral or unspoiled destinations for weekend day trips, such as historic houses, beaches, or sporting events like rowing races, all on the outer reaches of the Tube lines. These vividly colored posters frequently juxtaposed the inherent grayness of inner city London with an exaggerated vibrant atmosphere available just a short Tube ride away.

Tim Medland is an independent curator who focuses on the history of visual and material culture. He holds an MA in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, with a concentration in socially engaged practice. His research interests include environmental activism and sustainability, and the histories of transport, propaganda, colonialism, and migration.