See more objects with the tag graphic design, advertising, transportation, seasons, London Underground, seasonal.

Object Timeline

1927

  • Work on this object began.

1963

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2019

2021

2025

  • You found it!

Poster, From Winters Gloom to Summers Joy

This is a Poster. It was designed by E. McKnight Kauffer and printed by Vincent Brooks, Day & Son and made for (as the client) Underground Electric Railways of London Company Ltd.. It is dated 1927 and we acquired it in 1963. Its medium is lithograph. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

The Underground frequently commissioned posters that promoted seasonal travel, but Kauffer’s image illustrating the transition from winter to summer is full of mysteries. Skipping right past spring, the poster also neglects to mention or depict the transportation system entirely. A bare tree floats beside a silhouette of a man in an overcoat who morphs into a tennis player amid sunshine and foliage.

This object was donated by Mrs. Edward McKnight Kauffer. It is credited Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer.

Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

Its dimensions are

101.8 × 63.5 cm (40 1/16 in. × 25 in.)

It is signed

Printed in script, in olive ink, lower right: E. McKnight Kauffer

It is inscribed

Printed in gray ink, lower left: 262-1000-9-3-27; lower right: VINCENT BROOKS, DAY & SON, LTD. LITH. LONDON. W.C.2.

Cite this object as

Poster, From Winters Gloom to Summers Joy; Designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer (American, active England, 1890–1954); Printed by Vincent Brooks, Day & Son; Client: Underground Electric Railways of London Company Ltd.; USA; lithograph; 101.8 × 63.5 cm (40 1/16 in. × 25 in.); Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer; 1963-39-40

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18447955/ |title=Poster, From Winters Gloom to Summers Joy |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=12 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>