Golden Gate International Exposition, 1940

Item

A 1940 poster showing a gigantic golden statue of a woman on top of a staircase, surrounded by tall pillars, against a night sky. A crowd of small and anonymous people ascend the steps toward her.
Title
Golden Gate International Exposition, 1940
Description
A giant golden statue of a woman on top of steps, surrounded by pillars, with a crowd ascending toward it against a night sky. It is Pacifica, Ralph Stackpole's 81-foot theme statue for the fair
Artist
Sampson
Date
1940
Commissioning Organization
Golden Gate International Exposition Authority
Medium
Color lithograph poster
Destination
Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay
Source Archive
Calisphere
Rights
No known restrictions
Imagined Tourist
Deliberately universal, matches the fair's "Pageant of the Pacific" unity theme
What the Poster Promises
Promise: Spectacle, futurism, collective wonder
Tone: Awe, modernity
What Is Visible
Landscape: None, artificial environment
Transportation: None depicted
People: A uniform and anonymous crowd, dwarfed by the statue
Symbols: The Pacifica statue, Art Deco tower
Paired Item(s)
Treasure Island’s Nuclear History
Item sets
Travel Posters
Site pages
Inside & Outside the Frame
Media
A 1940 poster showing a gigantic golden statue of a woman on top of a staircase, surrounded by tall pillars, against a night sky. A crowd of small and anonymous people ascend the steps toward her.golden gate expo.png