City of New York Municipal Airports No. 1 Floyd Bennett Field – No. 2 North Beach, created in 1936, presents aviation as the public face of a modern metropolis. Two propeller aircraft sweep across a field of brilliant red, their pale bodies crossing on opposing diagonals above bands of emphatic lettering. New York’s familiar skyline is entirely absent: the city is represented instead by movement, infrastructure and the open air.

The poster belongs to a period when commercial flight was becoming both a practical form of transport and a potent emblem of civic ambition. Its subject is not simply travel to New York, but New York as a gateway organised for the aviation age. Floyd Bennett Field had opened in 1931 as the city’s first municipal airport, while North Beach would later be developed into the airport now known as LaGuardia. In the midst of the Depression, such projects could be promoted as visible evidence of confidence, investment and future opportunity.

A closer look

The aircraft dominate the upper part of the design. One points to the right and the other to the left, creating a compact choreography of opposing directions rather than a conventional procession. Their wings and fuselages are defined by clean contours and restrained beige-grey shading, enough to suggest volume without weakening the poster’s flat graphic force. Circular treatment around the propellers supplies an economical impression of rapid rotation.

Behind them, the saturated red ground functions almost like a signal colour. Against it, the light aeroplanes and white lettering become immediately legible, even at a distance. A muted blue wave-like band along the lower edge offers the briefest indication of water below, grounding the airborne forms while recalling the coastal geography of New York’s municipal airfields. The limited palette—red, creamy beige and subdued blue—keeps every element clear and purposeful.

Typography carries as much weight as illustration. “CITY OF NEW YORK MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS” appears in bold sans-serif capitals, while “No. 1 FLOYD BENNETT FIELD” and “No. 2 NORTH BEACH” establish an almost administrative order. Changes in scale separate the civic message from practical information, turning a list of facilities into a declaration of metropolitan reach. Smaller inscriptions name F. H. La Guardia as mayor and John McKenzie as Commissioner of Docks, giving the promotion an explicitly municipal authority rather than the identity of a private airline campaign.

Context and significance

Travel posters commonly advertised destinations through monuments, scenery or leisure. This design takes a markedly different course, making transport infrastructure itself the attraction. The aeroplanes do not arrive at a picturesque city; they embody the city’s modernity. That choice reflects the expanding cultural status of aviation during the 1930s, when streamlined forms, strong diagonals and compressed sans-serif lettering became an especially effective visual language for speed.

The pairing of Floyd Bennett Field and North Beach also records a transitional chapter in New York aviation. Floyd Bennett Field represented the city’s early municipal aspirations, while the development at North Beach pointed towards a new centre for passenger traffic. The poster therefore occupies an intriguing position between promotion and civic record: spare, forceful and forward-looking, it turns two named airfields into a concise vision of New York connected to the wider world.

Choosing the right size and finish

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The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this art print.

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This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.