Shell poster number 499, Chanter's Folly, Appledore by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. Landscape painting of Chanter's Folly and dry dock, showing a church and boat in the distance.

About the Collection

The Shell Heritage Art Collection is one of the most important collections of commercial art in Britain. It spans the period from the 1900s to the 1980s and contains some of the most memorable advertising ever produced in Britain.

Posters

Posters are characteristic of Shell’s advertising during the 1920s and 1930s. A list of artists not instinctively associated with commercial art were commissioned to convey simple messages for Shell’s poster advertising. These artists went on to become famous names in British contemporary art, including Paul Nash, John Piper, Vanessa Bell, Ben Nicholson and Graham Sutherland.

There are over 7,000 printed posters and 1,000 original art works in the collection reflecting the charm and character of a nostalgic age of motoring

Shell Guides

From the 1930s to the 1980s, innovative writers, artists, designers and academics were commissioned by Shell to produce modern and comprehensive guides to the counties of Britain. In the 1930s, the editor of the guides, John Betjeman, gathered together a mixture of young artists and authors like Paul and John Nash, Robert Byron and John Piper.

The Shell Heritage Art Collection houses a comprehensive list of Shell Guides as well as Shilling Guides and other Shell publications

Press Advertising

From the 1930s to 1950s Shell produced humorous press advertising illustrated by celebrated cartoonists and illustrators including Rex Whistler, Edward Bawden and Mel Calman.