The Who Concert Poster

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Poster with two neon abstract figures, one reclining and the other perched on a cloud, reaching for each other's hands
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Painting of a nude reclining man reaching out to another older man surrounded by angels.

Luther McKinley Stovall (1937 - 2023) in cooperation with Di Stovall, Mike Schreibman, and David Bronson
1969
Screenprint on paper
Gift of the artist
2011.18.5

Inspired by Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, ca. 1511
Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel), Rome
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One of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s, The Who, performed at McDonough Gymnasium in November 1969. They had played at the Woodstock music festival in August and were on a national tour to promote their album Tommy, the world’s first rock opera. Lou Stovall created numerous silkscreen posters for events and concerts in Washington, D.C. in the pop psychedelic aesthetic. His ingenious design for The Who blends fluid lettering and fluorescent colors with imagery from Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.