Cricket, Lovely Cricket, Adrian Clarke, 1991
145x110 cm
 
one of the London Underground Art Posters
London Underground has a long history, since the early 20th century, of commissioning artists and designers to produce posters for display in Underground stations. In 1986, after a short lapse, London Underground began an active campaign of commissioning artists again with the aim of concentrating on fine art, rather than poster design. The essential difference was that artists were given a free hand without outside influence on the resulting work of art, unlike the commercial art route to advertising. The only specification was that all places had to be accessible by Underground. The resulting posters were never considered advertisements; rather, they were seen as a good decoration for the stations, a passenger benefit and a way of continuing the Underground's long history of responsibility towards art and heritage.