The vintage artwork hidden away on the sets of Friends

May 6, On This Day

The 10-season-long, extremely popular TV sitcom ‘Friends’ aired its season finale in the US to 52.5 million viewers on May 4, 2004, drawing an end to a long-cherished entertainment go-to, but also creating a legacy that remains a by-word till date.

A quirky and interesting aspect of the show is that its sets — which are iconic spaces for fans — are predominantly decorated with illustrated posters when it comes to art, and these can be glimpsed gently to the discerning eye in the background of various scenes. Vintage posters are a popular artform that peppered the homes of Ross, of Monica and Rachel, as well as that of Joey and Chandler (this style was not for not for Phoebe, it seems).

The most prominent poster in Monica and Rachel’s apartment hanging above the TV in the living room, is that of French poster artist Jules Chéret, ‘Aux Buttes Chaumont: jouets et objets pour étrennes’. Chéret\’s work captured the vibrant spirit of the Belle Époque; another from the same era hangs near the front door a short distance away — a portrait of Maïna La Voyante (or Maïna the Clairvoyant), produced by French illustrator Louis Galice. It features Maïna, one of the popular astrologists on the streets of Paris at the beginning of the 20^th century.

Over at Chandler and Joey’s, perhaps the most striking poster is for ‘Les Mystères de New York’ (artist unidentified but most likely Charles Tickon), advertising a series that was first released in France in 1915, and was a re-edited version of an American show.

In Ross’s apartment, we encounter more Soviet posters, such as by two relatively unknown artists named of A Lebedinsky and S Shukhman, produced in 1958, roughly between the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite (1957) and the State’s first manned orbital flight (1961).

Explore the fascinating histories and interpretations of this modern art further at Illustration Chronicles.