When Copenhagen became wonderful – Poster artist Ib Antoni

The smiling mermaid and the friendly royal guard, drawn in aesthetic 60's strokes and colours. Motifs that many still associate with Denmark's capital. But who created these iconic motifs? Discover the incredible story of poster artist Ib Antoni, who was world-famous in the 50s-70s but whose name has since been forgotten.

On the 50th anniversary of his death, the Museum of Copenhagen is showing an exhibition that goes behind the person Ib Antoni and his time. The exhibition includes both well-known works and never-before-exhibited original drawings and designs that helped put Denmark and Danish products on the world map.

The story of Ib Antoni is the tale of the young Dane who – with a bit of a ‘Mad Men’ career on the continent and in New York – helped put Denmark on the world map with his creative mind and a sharpened pencil. It is the story of the impact he made and continues to make. About the artist who constantly pushed himself and was brave enough to show up unannounced at the biggest agencies in Europe and New York, but who was always afraid of his own inadequacy. About post-war Denmark, the celebrities of the time and about advertising as the new medium that shaped the modern consumer. It is also the incredible story of how Antoni's original drawings were hidden forgotten in an attic, and how they were rediscovered and brought back into the light.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Copenhagen Museum and Antoni Legacy, which represents the artist and his works.