The word grotesque was first coined at the end of the fifteenth century in Italy to describe a style of painting found in Ancient Roman ruins in which foliage intertwines and merges with human and animal forms. The re-discovery of these ruins was deeply influential to artists and designers. Through drawings and prints, grotesque motifs were disseminated as patterns for decoration in architecture, metalwork, textiles and ceramics. The fantastic nature of the grotesque enabled artists to incorporate imagery that pushed the boundaries of the known world. Within the confines of ornamental designs, artists turned elements from nature into otherworldly beings. Creatures, fearsome or playful, graceful or rigid, take their place in dense and sinuous designs for locks, ewers, rings, tapestries, stained glass and more. These intimately scaled works, often measuring just a few inches, are at times erotically charged and at others moralizing. Centuries later, these drawings and prints open a window to the imagination of artists and designers as the Age of Exploration unfolded around them.

E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890-1954) was a pioneering figure who transformed the field of graphic design between the wars. He drew upon the emerging visual languages of Cubism, Vorticism, and Surrealism to create a modern graphic style that shaped the development of commercial art. Through collaborations with his avant-garde peers in art, literature, and design, including the Bloomsbury Group, Marion Dorn, T.S. Eliot, Langston Hughes, Aldous Huxley, and Man Ray, Kauffer expanded the scope and impact of his field. This groundbreaking publication is the first to address the full range of Kauffer s career, from sophisticated designs for major clients including the London transport system, Random House, American Airlines, and Shell, as well as Allied propaganda posters during World War II to book covers, rugs, costumes, and stage sets. An interdisciplinary group of authors offer critical perspectives on the cultural context of Kauffer s work, bringing new attention to the designer s depictions of race, gender, and global politics.