Scope and arrangement
The James McMullan poster designs, dated 1976 to 2023, reflects over four decades of poster designs by McMullan, mostly for theatrical productions at Lincoln Center Theatre for the Performing Arts, New York City.
The collection is arranged into four series: Final Artwork; Preliminary Posters and Research Files; Photographs; and Posters.
This collection provides a glimpse into McMullan's creative process from preliminary pencil and watercolor sketches to various iterations of his illustrations. Each work culminates into a final poster that was used for promoting a theatrical production.
This collection holds extensive preparatory work, although the amount of background information varies with each poster design. This preparatory work includes pencil sketches and watercolor sketches at various stages of completion. Supporting materials include photographs of actors modeling for the posters, and occasionally historical photographs of the time-period. This visual evidence offers a glimpse into the decision-making process for the final selection. Some of McMullan's notes indicate that other individuals such as the playwright and director may have had an input about the final design. Every part of the poster design had to work together including the placement and colors of the text.
Highlights of the collection include McMullan's first theatrical poster for The Comedians, and first Lincoln Center poster for The House of Blue Leaves. The collection offers a wide range of posters featuring comedy, drama, and musicals from established playwrights and directors, to new plays debuting at the Lincoln Center Theater. Examples of other posters in the collection with working files include Ah, Wilderness!, Anything Goes, Carousel, King Lear, Mule Bone, The Royale, and Six Degrees of Separation.
The James McMullan poster designs are arranged in four series:
-
1993-2018
This series, which spans the 1970s through the 2000s, holds McMullan's final artworks that were selected for each poster. These paintings represent the culmination of McMullan's work, including final color selection and approval by directors, playwrights, and others involved in the production. The artworks are physically mounted on mat board and held in place with commercial tape. The final appearance for each painting varies. Some of the artworks are mounted in a matboard frame. The artworks may also include a mylar overlay on top of the paintings. This mylar usually has painted lettering with the title of the production, the playwright's name, the director's name, and the location of the production. While most of the productions were held at Lincoln Center Theater, several productions were held at other locations. The series also holds artwork that was created for a mural at Lincoln Center.
-
1977-2023
This series is the most complex and the largest. It represents two groups of preliminary poster works that had been arranged separately. Both groups are described together.
The range of materials are extensive, dating from the mid-1970s to the 2000s. The stand-alone preliminary artworks are located in boxes 3 and 4. These works have a few notes. The artworks are mostly finished pieces and mounted on matboard. The bulk of the background research materials are located in boxes 5 through 35. This material includes notes, historical research photographs, and images depicting actors modeling for the poster.
Some preliminary artwork includes detailed explanation as to how the poster art was developed. For example, McMullan wrote a note explaining the creative process as it relates to first photographing the models or actors for the production Dying Days.
The amount of background information available varies with each production. Some files hold multiple sketches reflecting McMullan's artistic process. Ah, Wilderness! provides an example of extensive visual research conducted by McMullan to prepare the poster. In contrast, Anna Christie holds very limited information.
This series also holds several examples of artistic work created for special events. McMullan designed the playbill for the Michael Kors Collection fashion show. These files hold multiple photographs of Kors posing for the cover. Another example is the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab announced in 2021. The files for this project mostly hold watercolors and photographs.
-
1986-2013
This small series holds mostly working photographs used by McMullan to create the posters. It should be noted that these photographs complement other photographs that were interfiled in Series II. There are multiple photographs of the actors who played leading roles in each production. McMullen referenced these images to create his sketches and paintings.
Other photographs in the series include photographs of McMullan's exhibit held at the Society of Illustrators.
-
1976-2001
Series IV, dating from the 1970s through the 2000s, holds twenty-five large paintings that were printed to posters. Not every poster designed by McMullan is represented, but the posters held here represent various printing techniques that he employed. The posters represented include An American Daughter, The Carpetbagger's Children, Carousel, The House of Blue Leaves, Measure For Measure, and Six Degrees of Separation.