FRANCIS BERNARD (1900-1979) AEROSHELL. Circa 1930.

45x30 1/2 inches. Paul-Martial, Paris.
Condition B-: repaired tears and overpainting in corners and along edges; repaired tears and creases in image.
Francis Bernard, a lesser known graphic designer belonging to the U.A.M (Union des Artistes Modernes), had, and deserves, the same status as his fellow members Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, Jean Carlu, Charles Loupot and Paul Colin. He is mainly remembered for the series he did for the Salon des Arts Menagers, but he also worked for other major corporations such as Nicolas and Cunard Line. Of the other U.A.M. artists, Bernard was most like Carlu in his inclination to use photography in his work. This photomontage, using only three colors, shows a biker filling his bike with oil. The diagonal red lettering is parallel to the arrow circling the oil can and pointing at the oil tank. A sober yet efficient piece of advertising and a classic, early photographic poster.
ref: Francis Bernard, Denis Ozanne & Nicolas Bailly, Chisholm Gallery, New York 1997, reproduced full color page.