Painters of their Time

«It is with joy and with pride that our best artists have been brought together to ask each one, each year to express in their own way how they see and want to see their fellow man, and to use the skill of the artist to show the beauty of man's actions, and their importance.»
 Isis Kischka

These are the words of the founder of the group of artists known as " Painters of their Time " who in order to throw themselves into what is " real ", visited workshops, steel-works, abattoirs, building sites and factories, before starting work on any given theme.
With the encouragement of Jean Cassou, the first two exhibitions took place at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris.
The theme of the first exhibition was " Work " February 1951. The poster was based on an original work by Fernand Léger.
The second exhibition  February 1953 was called  " Sundays ".  80 artists contributed an example of their work. The cover of the catalogue was illustrated by Matisse.
The exhibitions were so successful that  Isis Kischka suggested making the exhibition an annual event. The city of Paris offered to hold the event in the musée Galliera.
Consequently, from 1954 to 1977, there was an exhibition every year, each time with a different theme. The most important artists of the epoch took part, including : Braque, Bernard Buffet, Jean Carzou, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, and many others. The catalogues were printed in black and white up until 1965 when the cover was  lithographed by one of the artists, as was the exhibition poster.
In 1966 Jean Carzou did an illustrated cover for the catalogue, and designed the poster for the exhibition entitled " Les Français " ( The French )  In 1974, he did the poster  " La rue " ( The street ).