Eileen Mayo was one of the many designers commissioned by the Australian National Travel Association (ANTA) to produce designs for Australian travel posters. Established in 1929, ANTA aspired to attract overseas visitors to Australia by displaying artist-designed posters in its London, San Francisco (opened 1930) and Bombay offices (opened 1937 and directed at the British serving in India). The Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) took over many of ANTA's functions in 1967.
This poster illustrates the designer and client's interest in referencing Australia's unique fauna and landscapes as a dramatic and appealing aspect of Australian culture and identity. Although Mayo's poster is incredulous in that it depicts the 'red centre' with grass trees (a species not found in red sandy dessert environments), its heroic depiction of a kangaroo with joey in its pouch, the subtle tonal qualities of the sky, and the evocative graphic elements and composition would have made both a strikingly eye-catching and a commerically appealling Australian National Travel Association poster at the time. This type of bold graphic image of Australian identify were particularly popular during the 1950s, especially in the years leading up to the Melbourne Olympic Games of 1956.
Anne-Marie Van de Ven, Curator 2009
English-born artist, Eileen Mayo (b. 1906, arrived Australia 1953, migrated to New Zealand) was a teacher at the National Art School at East Sydney Technical College, Sydney and a freelance artist. While based in Sydney, she produced murals, posters, magazine illustrations and stamps.
During the 1950s, she was commissioned to design posters for the Australian National Travel Association, Australian fauna and mammal stamps for the Post Master General's Department (1957-1960), and four stamps for the first decimal series of 1966 featuring the Barrier Reef. This poster is one of several striking poster designs that she created for ANTA.
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