Oklahoma! - Theatre Royal (c.1950)

Year: c.1950

Format: Programme

Illustrator: Witold Gordon (1885-1968)

Client: Theatre Royal, London

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Details: This programme for the musical Oklahoma! was published for a c.1950 production at the Theatre Royal in London. However, the artwork was created earlier - I have seen examples on posters from as early as 1943, signed by Witold Gordon.

Witold Gordon (1885-1968) was born in Warsaw, Poland. He moved to Paris as a young man, studying at the Ecole de Beaux Arts before moving to New York.

He developed a career as a muralist, producing two major murals at Radio City Music Hall in 1932. Gordon was later commissioned to create a 6,000 square foot mural for a building at the New York World's Fair in 1939.

Alongside this, Gordon illustrated books, magazines and posters. In the mid-1940s, Gordon was commissioned by The New Yorker magazine to create a series of covers illustrating the New York City of a bygone era.

Gordon also exhibited work as an artist. He produced a series of 35 gouaches entitled ‘American Scene’, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1941.