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School of Visual Arts this fall will present “Underground Images: A History,” a new exhibition showcasing the full collection of the College’s Subway Posters, which have covered the walls of NYC transit stations for almost 75 years. While highlights of the “subway series” have previously appeared around the world in a traveling exhibition, this is the first time the entire collection of more than 200 posters will be shown to the public.

In addition to the posters, this rich time-capsule tribute to SVA's history will include multimedia installations, progress sketches and paintings and a recreated NYC subway platform. Presented by SVA Galleries in partnership with the SVA Archives, “Underground Images: A History” will be on view Tuesday, August 29, through Saturday, October 14, 2023, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 W 26th St., 15th floor, New York City. 

“Since the earliest days of the College, the subway posters have done more than just generate interest in SVA. They’ve stirred the imaginations of New Yorkers and the countless aspiring and practicing artists who visit the city each year,” said SVA President David Rhodes. “Exhibiting them all over the world has been an adventure, but we are thrilled to present this collection and its fascinating history in the place where it all began.”

Works by 93 celebrated artists—including Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, Marshall Arisman and Gail Anderson—are included in the exhibition, presenting a range of innovative styles and mediums that tell the story of SVA. Four divided sections of the gallery will cover everything from the history of the posters to the methods behind their creation, as well as their evolution and cultural impact. The posters show artists at the peak of such respective disciplines as typography, illustration, graphic design and fine art.

Also included is the most recent poster set to debut in stations this fall, which pays homage to the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop with a photograph by alumnus and faculty member Angel R. Ibañez, a fixture on the scene in the 1970s and 80s who has taken portraits of artists like Run-D.M.C. and James Brown.

Not long after its inception in 1947 as the Cartoonists & Illustrators School, SVA began commissioning these posters from some of its most esteemed faculty members as creative marketing for the College, then took them to the walls lining the NYC subway platforms. These advertising posters were both thought-provoking and eye-catching and have become an essential part of the fabric of the city’s transit system. Since 2006, the traveling iteration of “Underground Images” has been exhibited globally, including in the Czech Republic, India, Jamaica, Ireland, Turkey, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Italy, Serbia and many other countries and US cities. 

Projections of the “Subway Series” videos, plus historical photographs, original artworks, objects, oral histories and the subway platform reproduction, will offer an expansive and immersive background on one of the most enduring public art projects in the city. From the familiar prompt “Art Is...” which challenged poster artists to define the practice to activist messages and aspirational taglines, these special pieces of the College’s legacy also serve as a touchstone for understanding the often complex times in which they were created.

This exhibition closes out a full year of celebrations recognizing SVA’s 75th anniversary, a milestone marked by last fall’s special issue of the College’s biannual print publication the Visual Arts Journal, a New York City Mayoral proclamation presented in December 2022, and a commemorative subway poster by famed designer, alumnus and former faculty member Paul Davis (1959 Illustration).