Modern poster art fascinates me for its creativity and powerful imagery. Marla and I sourced original vintage Chanel No. 5 posters to sell in our old Wesco Fabrics’ showroom in Denver. They were large (45″ x 64″) linen-backed posters of art originally created by Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) which were produced in the late 1990’s. The photo above is our showroom vignette showing one of the posters.

I displayed 3 overlapped Chanel #5 posters on another showroom vignette. Our showroom design in this period was very eclectic highlighting the diversity of products we carried. Our clients who purchased these posters made a good buy as they are quite expensive today!

When Marla and I heard the De Young Museum in San Francisco was showing an exhibit of the “Summer of Love,…Art, Fashion, and Rock and Roll” in 2017 we had to see it. Marla and I attended concerts in college at the Avalon ballroom, The Fillmore Auditorium, and Winterland.

We went to the exhibit with my mom and our friend from college, Lea.

The poster wall of Bay Area concert posters were a huge hit!

The major Bay Area concert poster and album cover artists in the 1960’s and early 1970’s were amazingly creative!

Production techniques from the 1960’s and 70’s.

The most prominent poster artists at the time were Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, and Rick Griffin.

The artistic variety during this era was fantastic and often blended Art Nouveau, psychedelic motifs, and trippy graphics.

A concert poster for Them (with Van Morrison) and the Marin County band, The Sons of Champlin. Marla and I caught their concerts in San Francisco, Marin County, and even in Denver.

My friend Tom gave me this original Grateful Dead poster for a big birthday of mine. He had one of the largest rock and roll poster collections in the country at one time. I loved going to his house for parties when he lived in our neighborhood. He played live concert videos from a high-definition laser disc and played the feed on 5 large TV monitors placed throughout his home.

Poster for the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival.

The iconic Jimi Hendrix “Eyeball Poster” by Rick Griffin.

Poster art was an integral part of the protest movement around the country, especially in the Bay Area.

I found this original French movie poster at a small shop in Greenwich Village many years ago. It was designed in 1970 by the artist Mascii for a French release of the iconic 1955 movie, “Rebel Without a Cause.” He borrowed the James Dean graphic from the 1956 movie Giant. The size is 47″ x 63″. Our daughter Lisa was a huge James Dean fan so she asked if she could have it. She obviously is a wonderful salesperson!

Our son-in-law Ray has a collection of posters from his favorite band, Pearl Jam.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission. Others from the De Young Museum.