The image is Used with permission of General Dynamics Corporation. There is one other image of this object. See our image rights statement.

 

Object Timeline

1955

  • Work on this object began.

2013

  • We acquired this object.

2014

2019

2024

  • You found it!

Poster, Hydrodynamics, L'Atome au Service de la Paix (Atoms for Peace)

This is a Poster. It was designed by Erik Nitsche and printed by Lithos R. Marsens and made for (as the client) General Dynamics Corporation. It is dated 1955 and we acquired it in 2013. Its medium is offset lithograph on paper mounted on canvas. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

As a consultant for General Dynamics, a company
that produced cutting-edge and classified
defense technology for the United States, Erik
Nitsche was asked to develop a public-facing
graphic identity for the company that expressed
peace and prosperity. He created 6 designs
representing different fields of the company’s
scientific and technological research. One of
General Dynamics’ most famous projects and the
subject of this poster was the manufacture of
the first atomic submarine, the Nautilus, which
Nitsche captures with a crisp, modernist aesthetic
combined with scientific imagery.

This object was donated by Daryl Otte and Arthur Cohen. It is credited Gift of Arthur Cohen and Daryl Otte in memory of Bill Moggridge.

Its dimensions are

126.5 × 89 cm (49 13/16 × 35 1/16 in.) Mount: 133 × 95.2 cm (52 3/8 × 37 1/2 in.)

It is signed

Printed in black ink, lower left: ERIK NITSCHE; lower left corner: LITHOS R. MARSENS, LAUSANNE

It is inscribed

Printed in black ink, lower left corner, vertically: PRINTED IN SWITZERLAND

Cite this object as

Poster, Hydrodynamics, L'Atome au Service de la Paix (Atoms for Peace); Designed by Erik Nitsche (Swiss, 1908–1998); Printed by Lithos R. Marsens; Client: General Dynamics Corporation (United States); Switzerland; offset lithograph on paper mounted on canvas; 126.5 × 89 cm (49 13/16 × 35 1/16 in.) Mount: 133 × 95.2 cm (52 3/8 × 37 1/2 in.); Gift of Arthur Cohen and Daryl Otte in memory of Bill Moggridge; 2013-42-9

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/51689419/ |title=Poster, Hydrodynamics, L'Atome au Service de la Paix (Atoms for Peace) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>