Whitechapel Art Gallery.
London : Whitechapel Art Gallery, [1956]
Physical Description: ca. 250 p. : ill. ; 17 cm.
Acquired through the Stanford University Bookstore Fund.
Most widely known for its inclusion of Richard Hamilton’s poster Just What Is It that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), the “This is Tomorrow” exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery was a vibrant demonstration of artistic production in Postwar Britain. The Independent Group, an assembly of artists who in various ways incorporated mass media ideas and imagery into their practice, was the most visible set of participants; their work is considered by many to have been a precursor to Pop in both Britain and America. The spiral-bound catalog, printed with a vivid blue silkscreened cover, includes an essay by the noted critic Lawrence Alloway. It is a rich compendium, at once thoroughly documentary of the exhibition and itself an object of impeccable design.