Charlie Chaplin

Object Details

Artist

Berkshire Poster Company, c. 1914 - 1930s

Sitter

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, 16 Apr 1889 - 25 Dec 1977

Exhibition Label

Charlie Chaplin’s early years with his vaudeville-actress mother introduced him to the stage and the outlet that performance could provide. When moviemaker Mack Sennett saw Chaplin on the New York stage in 1912, he knew that he had spotted an unusual talent. Within two years—playing a mustachioed, duck-footed tramp in one two-reel comedy after another—Chaplin was well on his way to becoming one of the greatest film stars of all time. By the 1920s, having formed United Artists with his friends Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith, Chaplin was directing and writing his own films. Among his most noted accomplishments were his satiric commentary on the machine age, Modern Times (1936), and his acerbic portrayal of Adolph Hitler in The Great Dictator (1940). In this poster, we see the inimitable tragicomic actor with his iconic cane, bowler hat, and mustache.

La niñez de Charlie Chaplin transcurrió junto a madre, una actriz de vodevil. Fue así que Chaplin conoció los escenarios y el escape emocional que podía brindarle la actuación. Cuando el cineasta Mack Sennett lo vio actuar en New York en 1912, supo que había descubierto un talento único. En un plazo de dos años —interpretando a un vagabundo bigotudo con andar de pato en una comedia tras otra— Chaplin iba en camino a convertirse en una de las más grandes estrellas del cine de todos los tiempos. Hacia la década de 1920, habiendo fundado United Artists con sus amigos Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks y D.W. Griffith, Chaplin ya escribía y dirigía sus propias películas. Entre sus obras más logradas están Tiempos modernos (1936), una sátira de la era de las máquinas, y su incisiva representación de Adolph Hitler en El gran dictador (1940). En este cartel vemos al inimitable actor tragicómico con su emblemático bastón, bombín y bigote.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

c. 1916

Object number

NPG.84.114

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Print

Medium

Color lithographic poster

Dimensions

Image: 197.2 x 99.3cm (77 5/8 x 39 1/8")

Sheet: 203 × 105cm (79 15/16 × 41 5/16")

Mount: 208 × 110cm (81 7/8 × 43 5/16")

Alternate Title

Carmen

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Equipment\Walking stick\Cane

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache

Costume\Dress Accessory\Suspenders

Costume\Headgear\Hat\Derby

Poster

Poster\Movie

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Male

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Performing Arts\Director\Motion Pictures

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Performing Arts\Performer\Comedian

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Performing Arts\Performer\Vaudeville

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Literature\Writer\Screenwriter

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin: Oscar

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.84.114

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

CC0

GUID (Original Record Link)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm40d7db357-4852-4c25-b5e7-a44abd5b512b