Brookfield Zoo – Vintage Wall Art
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare vintage poster captures Brookfield Zoo in remarkable detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
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Brookfield Zoo
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This poster stands out for its focus on leopards, one of the animals promoted at Brookfield Zoo, the suburban Chicago park that opened in 1934 and was known for moated enclosures in place of the cages common at the time. The Federal Art Project, part of the Works Progress Administration, commissioned posters like this one during the Depression to advertise public attractions and events. Its silkscreen color and bold shapes were meant to read quickly from a street corner or a bus stop. The design is credited to an artist named Carken, and the piece is held in the Library of Congress's WPA poster collection.
| Created / published | 1936 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print on board (poster) : silkscreen color. |
| Notes | Designed by Carken. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). Promotional goal: U.S. K5. 1936. Posters of the WPA / Christopher DeNoon. Los Angeles: Wheatly Press c1987 no. 169 · Federal Writers Project sponsor. |
| Subjects | Zoos--Illinois--Chicago--1930-1940. Leopards--Illinois--Chicago--1930-1940. Brookfield Zoo (Ill.)--1930-1940. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Work Projects Administration Poster Collection |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 984 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 31_Brookfield_Zoo_1936 |
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