On the occasion of the exhibition, The Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New-York Historical Society, the museum commissioned a new poster from Grateful Dead artist Dennis Larkins. The poster is in the style of the iconic poster for the 1980 Grateful Dead concert at Radio City Music Hall, and features the Historical Society's building, the famous skeletons, a cast of Grateful Dead characters, and a welcoming committee of popular historic and current figures associated with the New-York Historical Society.
In addition to being a pop-surrealist fine artist, Dennis Larkins has enjoyed four decades of commercial success. Starting as a scenic artist at the San Francisco Opera, he became the resident designer for Bill Graham's infamous Day on the Green and Monsters of Rock. It was there that he employed the use of enormous set decorations, such as oversized album covers, pyrotechnics and special effects lighting. Concurrently, he designed album cover art, posters and other paraphernalia for popular bands. Grateful Dead fans will most remember his poster for the 1980 Radio City Music Hall concert, and his album cover for Dead Set in 1981.
