The Push Pin Legacy

September 2, 2021–February 6, 2022

This exhibition explores the incredible impact Push Pin Studios had on the resurgence and evolution of American commercial illustration.

Founded by Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, and Edward Sorel—and soon joined by Milton Glaser—Push Pin served as a counterpoint to the slick ads being created on Madison Avenue and the rigid, grid-based designs popular in Europe. They were referential, drawing from troves of disparate and often forgotten tropes from past art movements and time periods, hurtling them into the new, playful visual language of the 1960s and beyond.

The studio also served as an incubator for a myriad of designers who would become legends in their field, from the aforementioned founders to the likes of Paul Davis, Barry Zaid, Richard Mantel, James McMullan, John Alcorn, and many, many more.

Featured artists include:

John Alcorn
Seymour Chwast
Paul Davis
Milton Glaser
Tim Lewis
Richard Mantel
James McMullan
Reynold Ruffins
Isadore Seltzer
Emanuel Schongut
Edward Sorel
Barry Zaid

Additional support was provided by Mohawk Paper.

Press

“Posters can pack an emotional punch… There are several poster museums around the world, but this is the only one in the US.”

— CUNY TV, APRIL 19, 2022

“…Poster House’s chief curator, Angelina Lippert, explores how the studio’s eclectic style helped to define the counterculture aesthetic of the 1960s…”

— AIGA: EYE ON DESIGN, OCTOBER 7, 2021

“Hosted at New York’s Poster House, the Push Pin Legacy brings together over 200 posters by the likes of Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel”

— CREATIVE REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

“…each, in its own way, presents key pop cultural benchmarks and sheds light from different angles on shifts in public wants and needs.”

— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

“Copies have also been made available at Poster House in Manhattan to coincide with “The Push Pin Legacy,” the museum’s exhibition on the legendary Push Pin design studio, which counted Glaser as an early and integral member.”

— SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

“They made ads and posters that were playful and visually exciting and never followed any rules.”

— CURBED, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

“Poster House is incredibly stylish — in terms of its approach, its look and its ability to present to the visitor the best of the best, like a really elegant person who knows the value of editing a great outfit.”

— THE WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

“American design in the 1950s and ’60s was undergoing a revolution…”

— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

“In New York, you can get free admission to some 36 museums, including the Poster House…”

— HYPERALLERGIC, AUGUST 22, 2021

“Posters can pack an emotional punch… There are several poster museums around the world, but this is the only one in the US.”

— CUNY TV, APRIL 19, 2022

“…Poster House’s chief curator, Angelina Lippert, explores how the studio’s eclectic style helped to define the counterculture aesthetic of the 1960s…”

— AIGA: EYE ON DESIGN, OCTOBER 7, 2021

“Hosted at New York’s Poster House, the Push Pin Legacy brings together over 200 posters by the likes of Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel”

— CREATIVE REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

“…each, in its own way, presents key pop cultural benchmarks and sheds light from different angles on shifts in public wants and needs.”

— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

“Copies have also been made available at Poster House in Manhattan to coincide with “The Push Pin Legacy,” the museum’s exhibition on the legendary Push Pin design studio, which counted Glaser as an early and integral member.”

— SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

“They made ads and posters that were playful and visually exciting and never followed any rules.”

— CURBED, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

“Poster House is incredibly stylish — in terms of its approach, its look and its ability to present to the visitor the best of the best, like a really elegant person who knows the value of editing a great outfit.”

— THE WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

“American design in the 1950s and ’60s was undergoing a revolution…”

— THE DAILY HELLER, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

“In New York, you can get free admission to some 36 museums, including the Poster House…”

— HYPERALLERGIC, AUGUST 22, 2021

Selected Images

photo offset poster of a besuited orange figure with a cane and monocle overlapping a crowd of pink heads

Visit Dante’s Inferno, 1967

Seymour Chwast

photo offset poster of a woman in a sailor costume leaning against a ship's railing, a large cruise liner in the distance

Anything Goes, 1987

James McMullan

illustrational poster of a black woman staring off to the right in front of a tiled subway wall

For Colored Girls, 1976

Paul Davis

black text on a white background stating i heart new york more than ever

I Love NY More Than Ever, 2001

Milton Glaser

photo offset poster of the word Filmsense in black and white script repeated and overlapping to infinity over a rainbow backgorund

Filmsense, c. 1968

Seymour Chwast & Milton Glaser

photo offset poster of a man in 1940s attire screaming into a telephone against a yellow background

The Front Page, 1986

James McMullan

photo offset poster of a large white dinner plate with 5 peas on it and nothing else

Push Pin Posters Packages & Publications, 1979

Seymour Chwast & Richard Mantel

photo offset poster of a psychedelic dorothy and cowardly lion in a blue and red hellscape covered in lines, like Tron

Head Out To Oz, 1967

James McMullan

photo offset poster of 4 faces of Patti Labelle in various styles

Patti LaBelle, 1979

Isadore Seltzer

photo offset illustrational poster in purple hues of Barbra Streisand looking toward the upper left corner

The Belle of 14th Street, 1967

Tim Lewis

photo offset poster of two green jazz musicians facing each other wearing black suits

Basie & Getz, 1963

Seymour Chwast

photo offset illustrational poster for 4 views of the empire state building in the four seasons

New York, 1968

Milton Glaser

photomontage poster of various important Black historical figures

Harlem on My Mind, 1969

Reynold Ruffins

photo offset poster of three illustrational women in red suits inside a french garden

Daniel Hechter, 1970

Barry Zaid

illustrational poster of Che Guevara looking toward a sunset

The Evergreen Review/Che Guevara, 1968

Paul Davis

Concerts for Safe Energy, 1979

John Alcorn

photo offset illustrational poster of a cardinal running toward a battle with a bayonette in hand

Pass The Lord and Praise the Ammunition, 1967

Ed Sorel