London Transport Museum celebrates 100 years of art deco style with events season and blockbuster poster exhibition

Posters from left to right: Hearing the riches of London, by Frederick Charles Herrick, 1927 © TfL London Transport Museum collection, General joy, by Vera Willoughby, 1928 © TfL London Transport Museum collection and By tram from Hammersmith, Wimbledon or Shepherd’s Bush, by Fred Taylor, 1922 © TfL London Transport Museum collection

• London Transport Museum is celebrating the origins of art deco and its significant influence on London and its transport design over the last 100 years, and how it shaped the capital’s visual identity and heritage
• A new blockbuster exhibition opening at the Covent Garden Museum on 21 November will explore this style’s influence in a display of original transport posters, photography, artworks, short films and ceramics will mark the centenary of the 1925 Paris exhibition where art deco originated 
• An art deco-themed Museum Late, art and design focused Museum Depot open days, roaring twenties October half term family fun and a 1938 art deco train experience will make up a jam-packed season of activities exploring London transport’s design heritage
• Over one hundred original posters and artworks from design greats Edward McKnight Kauffer, Dora Batty, and Jean Dupas to go on display in the exhibition, with rarely seen posters and objects on show for the public to enjoy
• Entry to the Global Poster Gallery is included with museum admission. Adult tickets cost £25 – and kids go free! Tickets to the season of events can be booked on the Museum’s website

 

Visitors to London Transport Museum’s new exhibition Art deco: the golden age of poster design and its associated public programme of events will explore how art deco, a revolutionary visual arts, design and architectural style influenced London transport’s iconic publicity posters, train design and visual identity.

 

Housed in the Global Poster Gallery which is sponsored by Global, the Media & Entertainment Group, the new temporary exhibition will open on 21 November 2025 in the heart of Covent Garden. The exhibition is expected to close in spring 2027.

 

The jam-packed programme of art and design events and talks in Covent Garden, at the Museum Depot in Acton, west London and beyond will delve deeper into how art deco has made its mark on London transport’s art and design heritage. The full season of events is listed in the second half of the press release. 

 

The new exhibition Art deco: the golden age of the poster design takes the visitor on a journey which starts with the origins of the artistic movement, moves on to posters that capture the world of leisure and pleasure, and then explores its architecture and the role of architect Charles Holden who helped change the face of London with his remarkable designs for new Tube stations.

 

Design fans, history lovers and transport enthusiasts will be amazed by an array of beautiful vintage posters of gleaming ocean liners, stylish 1930s bathers, period photographs, Clarice Cliff pottery and loans from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), which include a Japanese Government Railway poster by one of the masters of graphic design, Munetsugu Satomi.

 

Leisure, pleasure and the jazz age 

Viewers are invited to ‘take a trip’ through transport posters that focus on the destination rather than the mode of travel. An outing to the zoo, countryside, seaside or sporting event was all within easy reach. The attractive stylised movement and colour of the art deco style provided a natural fit for waterside activities.

 

The glamour of the jazz age is illustrated in the posters by depicting new clothing and fashions to promote travel to the shops and evening entertainment.

 

Rarely seen posters 

A number of posters that have never been on public display will feature in the exhibition, from left to right below:

Underground; Quickest way out of London, by Aldo Cosomati, 1928, Southend-on-Sea, Surfing by Charles Pears, 1932, and, Tasting the riches of London, part of a series by Frederick Charles Herrick commissioned in 1927.

All three posters are copyright TfL London Transport Museum collection.

 

Art deco design and architecture  

Visitors will be able to see artefacts and historic photography exploring how art deco style made its mark on design beyond posters, including trains, Tube stations and London’s first skyscraper – 55 Broadway, London Underground’s former head office. The streamlined curves of an experimental 1930s Tube train and architect Charles Holden’s bold and simple modernist building designs exemplified this new elegant style.  

Images left to right: Streamlined Tube train by GEC, 1935 © TfL London Transport Museum collection, Poster of 55 Broadway, London’s Underground always at your service by Maurice Beck, 1932 © TfL London Transport Museum collection Tooting Bec station, 1934, © TfL London Transport Museum collection 

  

Art deco and design-inspired events in 2025 and 2026

 

• Heritage train journeys: Metropolitan line special 

Guests will be able to hop on London Transport Museum’s beautifully restored art deco style 1938 Tube train on special trips from Amersham station. Passengers will be transported back in time as they sit in a retro carriage with art deco light fittings and meet costumed character Charles Holden.

Tickets must be bought in advance www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/heritage-vehicle-outings

Dates: Friday 5 September – Saturday 6 September 2025

 

• Museum depot open days: a journey of art and design 

Go behind the scenes for the final Museum Depot open days of the year and explore a rich art and design heritage that is synonymous with London’s transport past and present. From poster art, iconic design pieces, artist commissions, a world-famous Tube map and vehicle design. Visitors can dive into the Museum Depot’s collection of over 320,000 objects and explore the distinctive style of the city’s public transport.

 

There will be art and design themed activities for all ages. For adults there will be not-to-be missed expert talks with historian Dr Emma Bastin, from the Art Deco Society UK, who will discuss how art deco revolutionised London Underground, and a talk with Fiona Orisini, curator at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Drawings & Archives Collections, based at the V&A, on architect Charles Holden. For families there will be demos, a quiz, object handling and craft workshops, a miniature railway and other fun activities.

 

For tickets and more information visit www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/depot-open-days/depot-open-days-journey-art-design

Date: Thursday 18 September – Sunday 21 September 2025

 

• October half term: roaring twenties

Families can step back in time to the roaring twenties with London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Families can take part in a series of fun activities celebrating this iconic decade, including arts and crafts, dance workshops and family-friendly tours. Find out more about vehicles from this decade, the stories of those who rode them and the influence of the art deco movement on London Transport.

For more information visit www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/family-events/october-half-term-roaring-twenties

Date: Saturday 25 October – Sunday 2 November 2025

 

• Museum late: art deco

Explore London Transport Museum after dark and enjoy after-hours access to the brand-new art deco poster exhibition opening on 21 November 2025. Emerging from the themes of the exhibition, this exclusive late-night event is a chance to discover London Transport Museum in a relaxed, enjoyable, adults-only environment.  Hop on our buses and trains, including a beautifully restored 1938 Tube stock car with art deco light fittings.

The full programme will be announced nearer the event. This is an 18+ event.

Tickets coming soon.

More information here: www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/art-deco