Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Blazing a Trail: Dorothy Waugh's National Parks Posters

Blazing a Trail: Dorothy Waugh's National Parks Posters

Resnick, Mark H.

Paperback

Art HistoryGeneral Design

ISBN10: 1956313354
ISBN13: 9781956313352
Publisher: RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press
Published: Sep 15 2025
Pages: 86
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.21 Width: 8.31 Depth: 10.91
Language: English

Dorothy Waugh's National Park Service posters comprise a striking visual record in the history of the Great Depression and mark a turning point in American graphic design. Convinced that tourism would be crucial to restoring the nation's shattered economy and morale, President Franklin D. Roosevelt invested heavily in conserving the parks and preparing them for more visitors. But jump-starting tourism during hard times, Waugh asserted, would also require bold promotion. The government's approval of her publicity campaign was a first--it had never entrusted such an ambitious project to a solo designer, let alone a female modernist. At once avant-garde and accessible, Waugh's seventeen posters issued between 1934 and 1936 helped fuel a boom in parks tourism. Her trailblazing work also placed her at the forefront of what would become the government's expansive presence in American visual culture.

Also in

General Design

View All