The Man With the Golden Arm

The Man With the Golden Arm

1959, Print Date: c. 1984
Designer
Saul Bass, American, 1920-1996
Born: New York
Country
United States
Object
poster
Medium
lithograph
Accession Number
2007.111
Credit Line
Gift of Nancy Von Lauderback Tovar
Saul Bass (American). The Man With the Golden Arm. 1959. lithograph. Gift of Nancy Von Lauderback Tovar. 2007.111.
Dimensions
height: 35 3/4 in, 90.805 cm; width: 25 1/8 in, 63.8175 cm; mat height: 36 1/4 in, 92.075 cm; mat width: 25 3/4 in, 65.405 cm
Inscription
Black ink, right edge below center: [artist signature]. See image in media tab for more detailed inscription.
Department
Architecture and Design
Collection
Architecture and Design

Saul Bass
American, 1920–96
The Man with the Golden Arm
1955, printed ca. 1984
Lithograph
Gift of Nancy Von Lauderback Tovar, 2007.111

The image on this poster was developed by Saul Bass for the first visual identity program—posters, marketing materials, and other communication tools—ever created for a motion picture. Bass was best known for the creation of simple, powerful graphic images that conveyed the essence of his subjects. Reducing the design to a single dominant symbol, Bass identified this film about drug addiction with a jagged arm thrusting sharply downward.

Known Provenance
Gifted 2007 by Nancy Von Lauderback Tovar to the Denver Art Museum.
Exhibition History
  • "What Is Modern?" — Denver Art Museum, 10/30/2010 - 3/24/2013 (object on view 10/30/2010 - 6/27/2011)