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London Underground / Wimbledon Tennis. 1933. Andre Edouard Marty.

12 5/8 x 10 ¼ in./32 x 26 cm

On the surface, it’s a quintessentially quiet, genteel, quite English rendering of Wimbledon tennis; look further and it exemplifies the drama and the genius that occurs at Centre Court. Marty’s sharp angles, off-center framing, and excellent visual communication between competitors and spectators in this small design, echoes the angles of attack that change a forecourt winner into an unforced error. Marty, who was mainly a fashion illustrator in the Art Deco style, by the 1930s had become a set designer for theater and film – and his talent in those arenas has clearly been reflected in these small panels for the London Underground, intended for display in the Tube carriages themselves. He created 14 of them between 1931 and 1934.

they literally do the same things. 

Plus some important, necessary touching: