The Wolfsonian–FIU
Posters, furniture, books, appliances, paintings, and political graphics from 1850–1950 expose design’s role in industry, nationalism, tourism, and mass culture.
Artwork inspired by James Rosenquist
The Wolfsonian treats design as an instrument that shapes conduct as much as taste. Posters, furnishings, books, appliances, paintings, transport graphics, and political imagery from 1850–1950 show modern visual culture selling products, organizing public life, promoting nations, and attaching technological optimism to commerce, tourism, labor, and empire.
Because only a fraction of the collection can appear at once, let the current exhibitions establish the agenda instead of hunting for remembered objects. Choose a problem such as speed, hygiene, leisure, or discipline, then compare how several media answer it. Asking whether each object directs, reassures, mobilizes, or persuades turns visual variety into a coherent argument.
- Period
- 1850–1950
- Strength
- Propaganda and industrial design
- Affiliation
- Florida International University
Quick guide
- Best question
- What action was this object designed to produce?
- Free admission
- Every Friday is free, with hours until 9 p.m.
Explore further
- Read the lobby
- The building and its monumental objects establish design as public persuasion.
- Choose a verb
- Ask whether each object sells, directs, disciplines, reassures, or mobilizes.
- Cross media
- Compare one poster with furniture or a machine addressing the same modern anxiety.
- Use Friday
- Free late hours provide time for a focused return rather than an exhaustive first pass.
Good to know
The Wolfsonian’s permanent collection is much larger than what can be displayed. A remembered object may be off view, so judge the current exhibitions on their own argument rather than expecting a fixed installation.