The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21 to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. The exposition's displays and attractions were centered around themes of science and technology, but included showcases for a variety of world cultures.

The Fine Arts Pavilion, part of the World of Art theme contained five main galleries, which opened the fair with six separate exhibits: Masterpieces of Art; Art Since 1950, American; Art Since 1950, International; Northwest Coast Indian Art; Art of the Ancient East; and Paintings by Mark Tobey. The Masterpieces of Art exhibit was replaced with three smaller exhibits - Northwest Painting and Sculpture, Adventures in Art, and Countries of the Pacific Rim - after September 3. Of the opening exhibits, only three were curated locally, with the Northwest Coast Indian Art organized by the director University of Washington Museum, and Art of the Ancient East and Paintings by Mark Tobey coming from the Seattle Art Museum.

This poster advertises the six opening exhibits, and like the poster for Art Since 1950, was created by Dutch graphic artist Dick Elffers (1910-1990).

Text on poster: art, WORLD OF ART, fine arts pavilion, april 21 - october 21, 1962, masterpieces of art, art since 1950 - u.s.a, art since 1950 - international, northwest coast indian art, art of the ancient east, paintings by mark tobey, SEATTLE WORLD'S FAIR; typ: elffers/printed in the netherlands at stendrukkerij de jong & co., hilversum 1962

Caption information source: Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962: Century 21 Exposition, Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 88-9; "Elffers, Dick (Dutch graphic designer, 1910-1990)," Union List of Artist Names, J. Paul Getty Trust, http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500116738.