Otto Baumberger

Otto Baumberger was born in Zurich in 1889. He served an apprenticeship as a lithographer and took courses at the Zurich Art School (Kunstgewerbeschule) from 1905 to 1907. After that, he studied at the Art Schools of Munich and Paris until 1910. From 1911 to 1913, he worked at the printing company J.E. Wolfensberger as a draughtsman and artistic director. Then, until the start of the First World War, he had his own studio for graphic design in Paris. From 1918 he worked for all the important printing companies in Zurich. From 1922 to 1927, he worked as an editor for the satire magazine “Nebelspalter”. From 1920 to 1932, he was a teacher for drawing and lithography at the Zurich Art School, and then he was a professor for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology until 1959.

Otto Baumberger’s first posters were created in 1911. However, his most productive period for posters was from the 1920s to the mid-1930s. He created about 230 posters in all, many of which he lithographed himself. An important representative of Swiss Expressionism, he is one of the most well known and prolific Swiss poster designers and created many remarkable, creative posters in a large variety of styles.

Posters by Otto Baumberger