The Push Pin Legacy

September 2, 2021–February 6, 2022
Peering into the Push Pin show by a chicken graphic dressed in a tux, directly ahead a white wall of colorful framed posters.

This exhibition explores the incredible impact Push Pin Studios had on the resurgence and evolution of American commercial illustration.

Founded by Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, and Edward Sorel—and soon joined by Milton Glaser—Push Pin served as a counterpoint to the slick ads being created on Madison Avenue and the rigid, grid-based designs popular in Europe. They were referential, drawing from troves of disparate and often forgotten tropes from past art movements and time periods, hurtling them into the new, playful visual language of the 1960s and beyond.

The studio also served as an incubator for a myriad of designers who would become legends in their field, from the aforementioned founders to the likes of Paul Davis, Barry Zaid, Richard Mantel, James McMullan, John Alcorn, and many, many more.

Featured artists include:

  • John Alcorn
  • Seymour Chwast
  • Paul Davis
  • Milton Glaser
  • Tim Lewis
  • Richard Mantel
  • James McMullan
  • Reynold Ruffins
  • Isadore Seltzer
  • Emanuel Schongut
  • Edward Sorel
  • Barry Zaid

Additional support was provided by Mohawk Paper.

Curator
Angelina Lippert
Exhibition Design
Ola Baldych
Located
Poster House, Main Gallery
Visitor Information
Allot approximately 1 hour
Parental Guidance
This exhibition is rated G
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Press

“Posters can pack an emotional punch… There are several poster museums around the world, but this is the only one in the US.”
— CUNY TV, APRIL 19, 2022
“…Poster House’s chief curator, Angelina Lippert, explores how the studio’s eclectic style helped to define the counterculture aesthetic of the 1960s…”
— AIGA: EYE ON DESIGN, OCTOBER 7, 2021
“Hosted at New York’s Poster House, the Push Pin Legacy brings together over 200 posters by the likes of Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel”
— CREATIVE REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
“…each, in its own way, presents key pop cultural benchmarks and sheds light from different angles on shifts in public wants and needs.”
— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
“Copies have also been made available at Poster House in Manhattan to coincide with “The Push Pin Legacy,” the museum’s exhibition on the legendary Push Pin design studio, which counted Glaser as an early and integral member.”
— SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021
“They made ads and posters that were playful and visually exciting and never followed any rules.”
— CURBED, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021
“Poster House is incredibly stylish — in terms of its approach, its look and its ability to present to the visitor the best of the best, like a really elegant person who knows the value of editing a great outfit.”
— THE WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021
“American design in the 1950s and ’60s was undergoing a revolution…”
— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
“In New York, you can get free admission to some 36 museums, including the Poster House…”
— HYPERALLERGIC, AUGUST 22, 2021

Selected Images

A photo offset poster of a besuited orange figure with a cane and monocle overlapping a crowd of pink heads.
A photo offset poster of a woman in a sailor costume leaning against a ship's railing, a large cruise liner in the distance.
An illustrational poster of a Black woman staring off to the right in front of a tiled subway wall.
Black text on a white background stating i heart new york more than ever.
A photo offset poster of the word Filmsense in black and white script repeated and overlapping to infinity over a rainbow background.
A photo offset poster of a man in 1940s attire screaming into a telephone against a yellow background.
A photo offset poster of a large white dinner plate with 5 peas on it and nothing else.
Photo offset poster of a psychedelic dorothy and cowardly lion in a blue and red hellscape covered in lines, like Tron.
A photo offset poster of 4 faces of Patti Labelle in various styles.
A photo offset illustrational poster in purple hues of Barbra Streisand looking toward the upper left corner.
A photo offset poster of two green jazz musicians facing each other wearing black suits.
A photo offset illustrational poster for 4 views of the empire state building in the four seasons.
A photomontage poster of various important Black historical figures.
A photo offset poster of three illustrational women in red suits inside a French garden.
An illustrational poster of Che Guevara looking toward a sunset.
A photo offset illustrational poster of a white female face in profile with wild colorful hair made of plants.
A photo offset illustrational poster of a cardinal running toward a battle with a bayonette in hand.