Michael English - Hausamann Moos - 1970s
Opens 26 March
Starting bid
€ 1
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Selected by Juan Antonio Rodríguez
Eight years experience valuing posters, previously valuer at Balclis, Barcelona.
Estimate € 150 - € 200
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Description from the seller
This poster is a famous work by the British artist Michael English (1941–2009), titled simply "Bottle" (or sometimes indicated as "Champagne Cork"), created in 1970.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Michael English. He was one of the fathers of psychedelic graphics in the 1960s (with the duo Hapshash and the Coloured Coat) before becoming a pioneer of photographic hyperrealism in the 1970s.
Original Title: Bottle
Production Year: 1970.
Client: Hausammann & Moos, a high-fashion Swiss textile company (as indicated on the small yellow metal placard). The poster was not a champagne advertisement, but a branding exercise for this textile brand, which wished to associate its name with luxury, excellence and technical mastery.
Technique: This is a high-quality offset print derived from an original airbrushed painting. The use of airbrush allowed English to achieve such soft gradients and such sharp details as to fool the eye.
Subject Analysis:
Radical Hyperrealism: The work is part of a series produced by English in 1970 (which also included subjects such as an egg, a spoon, a can of V8 and a pack of cigarettes) in which ordinary objects were magnified to excess and isolated on a white background.
The Cork (Champagne Cork): The cork is depicted with almost microscopic precision. The inscription "1970" on the side of the cork indicates the year the poster itself was created.
The Placard (Capsule): The metal disk bears the client’s name, "Hausammann & Moos", and the place, "S.G." (Saint Gallen, Switzerland), where the company is based.
The Drops: The detail of the water/champagne drops at the base is a hallmark of English, used to demonstrate his mastery in painting light refraction and transparency, making the image incredibly "fresh" and tactile.
Historical Value:
This poster is considered an iconic piece of 1970s graphic design. It represents the cultural shift from the chaotic psychedelia of the 1960s to the formal clarity and almost "industrial" precision of the following decade. Many of these posters are now preserved in important design collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.
If you look closely along the white margins (usually at the bottom left or right), you should find the small print confirming Swiss or English printing (Shenval Press) and the artist’s copyright.
This poster is a famous work by the British artist Michael English (1941–2009), titled simply "Bottle" (or sometimes indicated as "Champagne Cork"), created in 1970.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Michael English. He was one of the fathers of psychedelic graphics in the 1960s (with the duo Hapshash and the Coloured Coat) before becoming a pioneer of photographic hyperrealism in the 1970s.
Original Title: Bottle
Production Year: 1970.
Client: Hausammann & Moos, a high-fashion Swiss textile company (as indicated on the small yellow metal placard). The poster was not a champagne advertisement, but a branding exercise for this textile brand, which wished to associate its name with luxury, excellence and technical mastery.
Technique: This is a high-quality offset print derived from an original airbrushed painting. The use of airbrush allowed English to achieve such soft gradients and such sharp details as to fool the eye.
Subject Analysis:
Radical Hyperrealism: The work is part of a series produced by English in 1970 (which also included subjects such as an egg, a spoon, a can of V8 and a pack of cigarettes) in which ordinary objects were magnified to excess and isolated on a white background.
The Cork (Champagne Cork): The cork is depicted with almost microscopic precision. The inscription "1970" on the side of the cork indicates the year the poster itself was created.
The Placard (Capsule): The metal disk bears the client’s name, "Hausammann & Moos", and the place, "S.G." (Saint Gallen, Switzerland), where the company is based.
The Drops: The detail of the water/champagne drops at the base is a hallmark of English, used to demonstrate his mastery in painting light refraction and transparency, making the image incredibly "fresh" and tactile.
Historical Value:
This poster is considered an iconic piece of 1970s graphic design. It represents the cultural shift from the chaotic psychedelia of the 1960s to the formal clarity and almost "industrial" precision of the following decade. Many of these posters are now preserved in important design collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.
If you look closely along the white margins (usually at the bottom left or right), you should find the small print confirming Swiss or English printing (Shenval Press) and the artist’s copyright.
Details
Era
1900-2000
Designer/artist
Michael English
Poster title
Hausamann Moos
Subject
Celebrations
Estimated period
1970s
Country of origin
Italy
Condition
A (excellent - mint condition)
Number of objects
1
Height
70 cm
Width
50 cm
Autographed by a famous person
No
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