Fine Art on Billboards

1963: In response to polls indicating that a majority of the public disliked billboards along highways and were in favor of banning them, the O'Mealia Outdoor Advertising Corp. began displaying fine art masterpieces on a handful of its billboards throughout New Jersey. The idea was to show that billboards could be educational and instructive, and that they should be thought of as "the public's art gallery." Among the masterpieces displayed were Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Gainsborough's Blue Boy.

Cute idea, but it must have been difficult for motorists to fully appreciate a masterpiece as they sped by it at 60 mph. Perhaps those stuck in traffic jams could admire the art.

link: Popular Science - Oct 1965

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Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 24, 2015
Category: Art | Museums | 1960s

Comments

It did get a bit ridiculous there for a while with all the roadside adverts.

Grandma's Whore House
Just ahead on the Right
We've got no bugs not even a louse
Stop on in and spend the night.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 09/24/15 at 11:40 AM

I remember Lady Bird Johnson headed a campaign to reduce the number and sizes of roadside billborads about this time. She labelled it as "visual pollution" and she was right.

Posted by KDP on 09/25/15 at 10:07 AM

I have seen pictures of the Burma Shave signs, those were cool.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/25/15 at 07:55 PM

The only billboards I truly enjoy... Chik-Fil A 😉
So clever, so cute!

Loved by Betsy the cow too1 LOL :lol:

Posted by Cassandra on 10/04/15 at 09:28 PM

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