Edward McKnight Kauffer

Edward McKnight Kauffer kept a postcard of a Cézanne painting in his wallet for years, like a secret good-luck charm. The London Underground hired him to make posters, and instead of showing trains he painted speed as swirling colors and sharp angles—turns out commuters liked that better than timetables. If you’ve ever seen a poster that makes a subway ride look like an adventure, odds are it’s his. Look up his *Landscape* from 1917 and you’ll see what he did: ordinary hills chopped into jagged shapes, like the world got impatient and redrew itself.