Jean Carlu (1900-1997) was an award-winning graphic designer producing advertising posters for Perrier and Cinzano, Pan-Am an Air France, Vanity Fair and the US Government.
Amazingly, in 1918 and an architecture student, he lost his right arm in an accident involving a Paris trolley bus. He didn’t allow it to hinder him. He adapted, instead pursuing a graphic design path and carrying on with a creative career.
Unable to return to Paris after Hitler’s invasion, he emigrated to the United States, living there from 1940 to 1953. During this time, he produced a number of public information posters for the American war effort.
During his long career, his style developed and evolved, reflecting the art movements of the day; Art Deco (e.g. his 1921 film poster for Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid), Cubism (e.g. his 1924 Mouton Rothschild label) and Surrealism (e.g. his 1929 poster for the Aquarium de Monaco).
Jean Carlu, standing on the right
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