Amado Gonzalez: Sherry / California Wine Land of America Lithograph, 1960s

One of a series of wine country posters designed by Amado Gonzalez (1913-2007) for the Wine Advisory Board in  San Francisco, which command high asking prices online as collectible art.
 
This poster features two glasses of sherry next to a bottle on a table in front of an open window overlooking fields, part of efforts by the Wine Advisory Board to convince Americans that alcohol could be part of a good dinner, or life. They were formed in 1938 to overcome prohibition’s lingering doubts about all alcohol being about getting drunk!
 
The poster has the artist’s signature in the lower right of the image. Printed in the lower right corner is a stamp by Local No. 19 AMALGAMATED LITHOGRAPHERS OF AMERICA with the number 62 to its right, then ‘WINE ADVISORY BOARD, 717 Market Street, San Francisco 3, California’ followed by ‘Litho in U.S.A.’  and the code ‘9S’. Note: The ALA was founded as a union in 1915 and merged with others in 1964, helping confirm the date of this piece.
 
We believe the original came out in around 1963, when the Wine Advisory Board was operating under the Department of Agriculture, wine then defined as an agricultural product. (The Wine Advisory Board dissolved itself in 1975 when new marketing regulations came into force.)
 
Amado Gonzalez immigrated with his family from Guadalajara to San Francisco as a teenager. He studied at the California School of Fine Arts and found his calling as a muralist (he assisted with the Coit Tower murals) and then as a designer and illustrator in advertising. He was commissioned by the Wine Advisory Board to create these posters.
 
Ours is in good vintage condition with very minor curves from having been stored rolled for several decades (which we believe can be pressed flat), some discoloration along the top edge, and a few minor creases along the right and left edges. See photos for the larger issues.
 
H 28 1/2” x L 21”
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.