World Fairs rarely lead to stamp issues after the event. The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques held in Paris in 1937 was exceptional. More than 80 years later, three pieces of art and architecture created for the exhibition can still be viewed – and continue to have postal relevance.
The effects of the Great Depression were still being felt in 1937. As a result, the French left-wing coalition government employed thousands of workers to build the temporary pavilions. It also commissioned over 700 murals and 2,000 artists to decorate these. However, it was two works of art paid for by foreign governments that have stood the test of time and provided ongoing content for stamps and postal Cinderellas.
Pablo Picasso, who was living in Paris at the time, was paid 150,000 French francs by the Spanish Republican government to create a
