c.1960 SAS North America Travel Poster – Otto Nielsen, American Bison

A striking SAS travel poster featuring an American bison or buffalo standing above an open landscape. A vast sky of pale blue, turquoise and yellow fills most of the composition, with a small aircraft passing overhead. The animal’s dark silhouette contrasts beautifully with the light, expressive brushwork.
Created by Danish artist Otto Nielsen to advertise North America, the design uses wildlife and open space to suggest the scale of the continent. An olive-green panel with flowing yellow lettering completes this distinctive piece of Scandinavian airline advertising.
Printed by Axel Andreasen & Sønner, Copenhagen 
Provenance: 981071
Artist: Otto Nielsen, with his small “ON” monogram in the artwork
Dimensions: 39 in x 25 in (100 cm x 62 cm)

Otto Nielsen (1916–2000) was a Danish illustrator and painter closely associated with SAS. He travelled widely to gather subjects for the airline’s posters and calendars, using expressive colour and lively drawing to capture places, people and animals. Wildlife became a particularly effective part of his travel advertising. Here, the bison provides an immediately recognisable symbol of North America, while the expansive sky gives the scene its sense of distance and freedom.

The tiny white “ON” monogram visible at the lower left of the illustrated area is consistent with Nielsen’s signature.

Uses SAS’s original 1950s three-shield crown logo (representing Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) and features the silhouette of a 1950s long-range four-engine airliner (DC-6/DC-7 era) flying above. 

SAS was formed in 1946 through cooperation between the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish national airlines. Its posters became an important expression of postwar Scandinavian graphic design—usually restrained typography combined with unusually painterly destination imagery.

Because of the age of these posters, there are areas of wear and tear, particularly on the edges. I have done my best to take photos where they are torn or stained. The good news is that when framed, the tears press up well against glass, and edges can be hidden by mats. Any wear picked up from years are part of the vintage charm.

When framed these colourful and detailed posters, with vibrant colours can become a centre piece for any room, to remind us of a simpler time.

These posters are sent as unframed. They will be delivered in a cardboard tube for protection.

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