Paul Colin Biography

Colin adapted his Art Deco bent over the years into his own unique style, evolving as he embraced symbolism and abstraction. He was a master of depicting movement in deceptively simple ways. He designed dozens of posters for performers in all media, reflecting the history of Paris show business and public life during his lifetime perhaps better than any of his contemporaries.

Paul Colin studied painting at the beaux-arts of Nancy. In 1923 Paul Colin met André Daven a partner of Ralph de Maré, new director foth the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées who was looking for talent and new shows. Paul Colin hired Jean Borlin, a star of the Royal Swedish Ballet. Colin designed his fist poster for the movie Imaginary Jouney Voyage in 1925 in which Borlin was the star. In the same year Paul Colin worked for Josephine Baker and what would become the Revue Nègre. Pairs discovered the Jazz Age and Colin captured this in his work for the Tumulte Noir. This poster made him known and he produced others using his signature somewhat chariacature style. He went on to design theatre and film sets becoming famous through out Paris. In 1930 Paul Colin opened the first poster school where many of the most famous designers of the future generation were trained. Paul Colin worked during the war and on into the 1970s designing travel posters.