Vilmos Huszár (Dutch, born Hungary. 1884–1960)

Cover of the portfolio: Volkswoningbouw, Haagsche Kunstkring
(Public housing, Hague Art Circle), 1925
Preface by H. P. Berlage; twenty plates with drawings by architect Jan Wils
Lithograph, 16 5/8 x 12 3/4” (42.5 x 32.3 cm)

Print: Boulevard St. Michel, Spirit, Motor, 1927
Lithograph, 14 1/2 x 18” (36.8 x 45.7 cm)

Writing in 1929, Vilmos Huszár (1884–1960), the Hungarian-born co-founder of De Stijl, noted that art after Cubism abandoned realistic outward appearance in favor of essence. Advertising—a form that could reach a broad public—should be no different. He described his “neo-Cubist” advertising design for Miss Blanche cigarettes as a “plane-space composition” comprising “cigarette—smoke—letters—brand.” It was not this design, however, that was endorsed by the company, but rather Huszár’s highly recognizable, highly reproducible, cross-dressing new woman in De Stijl’s primary colors.

Proof for poster: Miss Blanche Virginia Cigarettes, 1927 or 1928
Letterpress, 4 9/16 x 7 1/16” (11.6 x 17.9 cm)

Display card: Miss Blanche Virginia Cigarettes, 1926
Lithograph on board with stand, 11 3/4 x 7 1/2” (29.8 x 19.1 cm)

Click here for additional branding for Miss Blanche cigarettes.

Poster: Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Design, Architecture,
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1929
Letterpress, 27 5/8 x 23 1/2” (69.9 x 59.7 cm)

Cover of De Reclame (The Advertisement), vol. 8, no. 4 (April 1929)
Lithograph, 10 7/8 x 8 1/8” (27.6 x 20.6 cm)

Spread from Vilmos Huszár, “De reclame als Beeldende Kunst” (The Advertisement as Art) in De Reclame vol. 8, no. 4 (April 1929), p. 174–175, including examples of his own work, alongside that of contemporaries including Bart Van der Leck, Raoul Hausmann, Lydia Naumova, and El Lissitzky

Booklet: Telegraph message forms,
National Radio Service Hollandradio, c. 1931
Lithograph, 5 1/2 x 3 7/8” (14.1 x 9.8 cm)

Click here for additional P.T.T. (Netherlands Post, Telegram, and Telephone Service) branding.

May 4, 2021