Lewitt-Him Studio (1933 – 1955)
Thomas Forman & Sons Ltd., printer
H.M. Stationery Office, publisher
1943
Lithograph on paper
Fairchild Endowment Fund purchase
2019.10.1
Inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Rudolf II of Habsburg as Vertumnus, 1591
Skokloster Castle, Sweden
Image source
This fanciful poster was designed by Polish artists Jan Le Witt and George Him, who met as students of graphic design in 1933. They teamed up to establish a printing studio, and in 1937 moved their business to London following an exhibition of their work at the publishers Lund Humphries. During World War II the Lewitt-Him Studio received important commissions from agencies such as the General Post Office and the Ministry of Information. The Vegetabull is a clever arrangement in the tradition of the composite portraits by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who portrayed his patron Rudolf II in the guise of the Roman god of the seasons, with features consisting of vegetables. The clever Lewitt-Him illustration of a bull formed from vegetables was designed to encourage the British wartime public to consume dairy and produce when meat was in short supply.