Our Co-Founder and first Creative Director, Philip James Baber, described Otto Nielsen as "the Turner of Travel Poster Art” so it is with great joy that we present, alongside his heir, a new collection championing Otto Nielsen, Denmark's renowned expedition artist.
This Collection – the first time these works have been revived and remastered under exclusive license – showcases Nielsen’s masterful brushwork in the harmonious watercolours with which he captured the vibrant spirit and natural beauty of some of the world’s most loved travel destinations.
Comments Meg Gage Williams, our Founder and CEO:
“From the architectural splendor of Piccadilly Circus to the roar of Time Square and the ambition of Manhattan's 'Man Made Peaks', from the cascading serenity of Hawaii's Akaka falls to the effortless high fashion of 1960s Sicily and the textured enigma of Tokyo, each Otto Nielsen artwork exemplifies his extraordinary talent and appreciation of the beauty he saw in the natural and manmade environs through which he travelled.
“We have been enormously privileged in terms of our access to source material in the three year pre-production phase of this project as he always held onto his original works. He filled his home with his art - and now, post succession, that of his nephew and heir Torben Wolsted and his wife Conny, who are also co-authors of a stunning Otto Nielsen book .”
The collection harks back to a time when the seminal competing airlines - British Overseas Air Corporation, Lufthansa and Pan American World Airways chief amongst them - sent their artists across the world to create images that would inspire a first generation of jet-setters to travel to far flung destinations. Despite global demand, Mr. Nielsen remained wilfully selective about commissions, always prioritizing his artistic freedom and personal expression.
“I am very grateful that some years ago Philip and Meg took the initiative to revive my uncle's works,” adds Torben Wolsted, Nielsen’s heir. “Otto was a cosmopolitan – enthusiastic about life and the world. He expressed it as follows: "The close things are my cup of tea, the beauty around us is in everyday life. I only trouble myself with counting the bright hours”. The fact that some of my uncle's paintings are now brought back to life means a lot to me and my family, and it is my hope that people will appreciate the diversity of the works and enjoy the colors and motifs.”
The twelve Stick No Bills inaugural Nielsen artworks are the latest additions to the fast-growing creative safe harbour The Archives Design Group Ltd has been developing in partnership with institutional archives, attested heirs to artists’ estates and living poster artists since 2012. Fixed percentages of The Archives Design Group’s net income from all sales of the Otto Nielsen Collection go to the World Land Trust, in a hat tip to Mr. Nielsen’s deep connection to the natural world.
