Grow it yourself

Herbert Bayer
$85.00
Size

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details
Artist Statement

Designed by Herbert Bayer in the early 1940s, Grow it yourself was part of the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) efforts to help promote the Victory Garden Program during WWII. With food sources stretched to their limits during wartime, citizens were encouraged to plant their own edible gardens wherever possible, not only to increase availability of produce but also to reap the health, recreational, and morale-boosting benefits of home gardening. It is estimated that by 1944, almost 20 million families were producing 40% of the vegetables in America with their victory gardens. 


Today, we’ve once again turned to home gardening for both sustenance and solace in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. With food supply chains strained, essential workers stretched thin, and quarantine precautions in place, a new generation of victory gardens emerged. Bayer’s poster uses Bauhausian bold simplicity to show both the bounty and gratification that gardening can bring. And in a time of such uncertainty, even the slightest sense of control and accomplishment—in the form of the most petite potato—provides fuel to persevere.

Why We Love It

Bayer was known for his Bauhausian approach to print and advertising, evident in Grow it yourself’s bold simplicity that emphasizes both the bounty of gardening (carrots! cabbage! onions! tomatoes! potatoes!) and the gratification it can bring—the stylized ribbon of soil, punchy color palette, and orderly lines are certainly visually satiating, as if to say “these veggies satisfy in more ways than one.” That sprinkler is a key inclusion, an illustrated reminder that this mini Eden is 100% man-made (you can do it yourself!). Bayer was also a total typography whiz, which you can see in the blocky, sans-serif, all-caps font that cleverly switches from blue to white so it pops appropriately. And this isn’t just a garden. It’s a “Farm Garden”—a source of abundance at any size ... Read more on the blog!

Details

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

Medium

Museo Portfolio Rag

Edition Structure:
8"x10" | edition of 10
11"x14" | edition of 100
16"x20" | edition of 25
20"x24" | edition of 10
30"x40" | edition of 2
Artist - Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer (1900-1985) was an Austrian-American graphic designer well known for his Bauhaus style in printing and advertising. A true jack-of-all-trades, Bayer was a skilled painter, photographer, sculptor, environmental and interior designer, typography and font designer, and architect. Bayer studied for four years at the Bauhaus under Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, later becoming director of printing and advertising at the school. He left the Bauhaus in 1928 upon his appointment as art director of Vogue Berlin. Bayer remained in Germany until 1937, when works of his were included in the Nazi propaganda exhibition “Degenerate Art”, prompting him to flee.

In 1946, Bayer moved to Aspen, Colorado and began working as an architect, co-designing the Aspen Institute and restoring the Wheeler Opera House. However, it was his promotional posters for skiing that truly propelled his reputation as an artist and designer. After building a close friendship with American businessman Robert O. Anderson, Bayer became instrumental in the formation and development of the Atlantic Richfield Company Art Collection, which grew to nearly 30,000 works nationwide. Bayer’s personal collection of his own works were donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art upon his death.