France: Collectible Art Posters

France is renowned for its art museums, such as the world-famous Louvre in Paris. What few art enthusiasts may not know is that the poster became an art form in 1867 when Frenchman Jules Cheret incorporated spectacular colorful illustrations and text into a previously lackluster design format. Since then, posters from all over the world advertising exhibitions and other events have evolved into major attractions in many galleries and cultural institutions throughout France. Thanks to modern technology, future visitors to France can now utilize the World Wide Web to locate information pertaining to posters that can be purchased from many of the country's museum shops, flea markets and art dealers.

The gift shops at the Musee d'Orsay and Musee Marmottan in Paris are some of the first places interested buyers will find posters by such artists as Cheret. Other excellent resources for posters include Parisian shops like Galerie Maeght, Galerie Documents and Librairie des Musees Nationaux. The Musee de la Publicite in Paris and the Centre Municipal de l'Affiche in Toulouse, both of which spotlight posters as an art form, also offer replications of displayed art for purchasing.

In Nice, museums dedicated to the works of Cheret and Marc Chagall feature a wide variety of posters that are available to consumers. A facility honoring Toulouse-Lautrec, located in his hometown of Alibi, sports copies of the master artist's works for sale. Finally, Librairie Makaire, a popular bookstore in Aix-en-Provence, will please any art buff looking to buy posters. To learn more about these and other poster outlets in France, computer users can go to the World Wide Web for various relevant resources.