Political Posters

The “All Of Us Or None” (AOUON) archive project was started by Free Speech Movement activist Michael Rossman in 1977 to gather and document posters of modern progressive movements in the United States. Though some early works are included, its focus is on the domestic political poster renaissance that began in 1965 and continues to this day. When Rossman died May 12, 2008 his family donated the collection to the Oakland Museum of California. More …

The Archive gathered posters from all streams of progressive activity — from movements of protest, liberation, and affirmative action, trade union and community struggles, to electoral and environmental organizing, community services, and visionary manifestos. It is strongest in work from the San Francisco Bay Area, but its scope is national: approximately one-quarter of its holdings come from out of state, primarily New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. These are complemented by a representation of international work. The collection consists of approximately 24,500 distinct titles.

The collection includes examples from well-known graphic artists including Malaquías Montoya, Emory Douglas, Rachael Romero, Rupert Garcia, Yolanda Lopez, Favianna Rodriguez, Carlos Cortez, Nancy Hom, Juan Fuentes, and Jos Sances, as well as material from seminal collective workshops such as La Raza Silkscreen, the Royal Chicano Air Force, Japantown Art and Media, Kearny Street Workshop, and Inkworks Press. Perhaps more important, the depth and breadth of the collection reveals the contribution of numerous lesser known or even anonymous artists whose cumulative impact on this democratic public art form has yet to be properly understood.

The cataloging of the AOUON Archive was made possible by a generous grant from the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation.

View results as Grid View results as List Browse Full Collection Advanced Search

1872 Mining Law vs. Yellowstone 1996 Poster has a green printed background. At the top is "1872 Mining Law vs. Yellowstone" in white. Below the title is a map of Yellowstone with the various mining law claims in shades of red, yellow...	Yosemite 1985 Top of poster has a reproduction of a watercolor painting showing a falcon perched on a tree stump''s branch overlooking a mountain. Centered below the image is "Peregrine Falcon / Falco...
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a black printed background with a central abstract image of a body of water filled with plants and fish. Gray birds fly at the top of the poster while gray and red jellyfish swim up the...	Arbor Day: A Celebration of Stewardship Late 20th Early 21st Century Laminated poster has green printed edges and a red border enclosing a white, unprinted background. At the top is an image of a man in black and white with a color illustration of a tree bearing...
San Francisco Bay 1985 Poster has a blue printed background. At the top is a color photo of sea lions swimming in the water of the San Francisco Bay on a clear, sunny day with the city skyline and Bay Bridge in the...	The Trees We Plant... Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a color image of a group of human figures, some male, some female, some adult and some children, and a dog gathered around a pile of overturned dirt. An elderly man kneeling at the left...
Arbor Day Poster Contest Late 20th Early 21st Century Laminated poster has a yellow printed background. At the top is a color illustration of a tree, with the left half revealing the interior of the trunk. At the top, left and right of the...	Be a Tree Sleuth Late 20th Early 21st Century Laminated poster has a yellow printed background. Across the top is "be a tree sleuth" in green followed by a color illustration of a classroom with leaves, seeds and bark on the children''s and...
untitled (snowy forest and poem) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a black printed background. At the top is a color photo of a forest during winter, with snow on the ground, yellow leaves on the trees and a bright blue sky. At the bottom of the poster...	Tropical Rainforests: Gone in Our Lifetime? 1989 Top of poster has a color image showing a rainforest, with a fire burning the trees from the top down. Emerging from the flames is paper currency. In the forest are animals - birds, monkey,...
untitled (river) 1976 Poster has a color photo of a flowing river, winding through tall rock cliffs with greenery growing along the sides.	Shrubs of the Coast Ranges 1985 Poster has light green printed edges enclosing a white background with color illustrations of various plants, flowers and shrubs. Below each plant are its common and Latin names, printed in green...
Wildflowers of the Coast 1991 Poster has light green printed edges with a purple border enclosing a white background with color illustrations of various plants and flowers. Below each plant are its common and Latin names,...	Wildflowers of the Desert 1981 Poster has white unprinted printed edges with brown borders enclosing a white background with color illustrations of various plants and flowers. Below each plant are its common and Latin names,...
Jewels of the Prairie: Blooming Dates 1999 Poster has green printed edges enclosing an unprinted white background. At the top right and bottom left are light blue shapes of Iowa with "Jewels / Of The / Prairie" in blue and "Blooming Dates...	The Living Forest 1995 Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a color image of rainforest animals gathered among the plants, including a tucan, a parrot, primates, reptiles, and a big cat. Across the bottom edge is...
Whales of the World 1976 Top of poster has color images of different species of whales swimming in an ocean. Associated with each image is black text with the common and Latin names of each whale, their depth and other...	Save the Whale Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has green handwritten marker and blue spray painted images on thin yellowed paper. At the top is "Greenpeace / Raffle Tickets $2.00 / Win: Trip For 2 To / Anywhere + $300.00 Cash". At the...
Stanley Park B.C. 1988 Poster has dark blue printed edges enclosing a color image of killer whales swimming in the ocean. On the bottom edge is "Stanley Park B.C." in mint green and "100 Years" in blue.	These Animals Need Our Help 1982 Poster top center has a color illustration of animals stacked on top of each other. Below the animal pile is "These Animals / Need Our Help" followed by two columns of black text. To the left and...
The Santa Barbara County Oil Initiative 1985 Top of poster has a color image of a bird in flight above the water. At the bottom of the poster, on the unprinted white background, is black text reading "The Santa Barbara County Oil Initiative...	untitled (dolphins) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has dark blue printed edges with gray, blue and white borders enclosing a color image of a pack of dolphins swimming in shallow water with fish and turtles, with sail boats and tall, green...
Azra Tea Lautrec Lithography 1989 Top of poster has a color image of a rainforest, with animals and humans emerging from the plants. At the bottom of the poster is "''The Rainforest Deva'' by Azra to inspire reverence for the...	untitled (jungle animals) 1989 Top of poster has a color illustration showing jungle animals emerging from green plants with a tall yellow/orange mountain in the background. Animals pictured include a lion, a primate, a giraffe...