Paul Colin (1892-1985), one of France's greatest poster artists, was born on June 27, 1892 in Nancy, France. He became a student of Eugene Valin and Victor Prouve. His poster for the Revue Negre helped launched not only his career, but also the career of actress Josephine Baker. Later, he designed a number of posters for her performances. For over forty years, he worked in the theatre, creating almost 2,000 posters and hundreds of stage sets.

His posters were highly stylized with themes of performing arts, theatre, studio art, and dance. His bold images, strong clean lines and brilliant colors mark him as a master of visual communication. Colin published a portfolio capturing the exuberant jazz music and dance that dazzled Paris titled Le Tumulte Noir (The Blake Craze).

Fourteen of the vividly colored lithographs were on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Le Tumulte Noir became a marvelous achievement of Art Deco graphic design and is recognized as one of Colin's most prominent works. Colin became a master of poster art and an inspiring graphic artist.