Jean Carlu (1900 - 1997)

  
Jean Carlu was born in Bonnieres, France in 1900 to a family of architects.
He himself was studying to enter that profession when as an eighteen year old he lost his arm in an accident with a Paris trolley bus.

Unable to persue architecture as a career, but nonetheless wanting to help his country which was experiencing great devastation and hardship as a country at the epicentre of the First World War, he decided to become an artist.

He became a leading poster artist during the 1920s and 1930s on a par with A.M. Cassandre and Paul Colin.

In 1940 he was at the New York World's Fair in America on a "France At War" exhibition as the artistic and technical advisor to the French Information Service. During this exhibition Paris fell to the Hitler.

Unable to return to Paris he stayed in America where he designed some of his best posters for the Allied war effort. His most celebrated poster being the "America's Answer! Production" poster for which he was recognised with the top award with the New York Director's Club Exhibition.

When the war ended he remained in America working on advertising campaigns for Container Corporation of America and created a series of posters for Pan American Airways between 1947-48.

Returning to France in 1953 he became a consultant to various clients including Air France, Larousse and Firestone France before retiring in 1974.