Allen Jones and Gordon House Royal Academy Exhibition Poster, 1983

Allen Jones RA adapted his own screen print Paso Doble for this poster, working with graphic designer Gordon House, commissioned for the Royal Academy's 215th Summer Exhibition at Burlington House, Piccadilly.

The composition centres on a bird in flight, rendered in the bold, saturated colour Jones is known for, set against a golden yellow ground. Paso Doble takes its name from the fast, dramatic Spanish dance, and something of that rhythm carries through the sweeping lines of the bird's wings. Gordon House, who went on to design Academy posters throughout the 1980s and 90s, framed Jones' image with classic serif typography, giving the whole poster the feel of a window onto the artwork itself. Jones is one of the defining figures of British Pop Art, with work held in the Tate and MoMA, and copies of the original Paso Doble screenprint were sold alongside this poster during the exhibition itself, a separate, rarer object to the poster.

The lower text still carries the exhibition's Sunday morning concession times for under 18s, a small period detail that places it firmly as a genuine piece of the show rather than a later reprint.

The Summer Exhibition ran from 14 May to 28 August 1983.

Set in a slimline black timber frame with gallery glass. Dimensions: 78.7cm wide, 61.6cm high.

Available to view in our Torquay studio.