Boris Grinsson was born in Russia. After the Bolshevik take over, Grinsson's family settled in Estonia with Boris studying art in Tartu. Moving to Berlin to use his skills, he found work at the UFA Studio designing film posters. His drawing of an anti-Hitler election poster in 1932 led him to flee Germany to Paris after Hitler took power. Grinsson has drawn the designs for over 2000 French film posters along with movie posters for famous America and Italian films. His work, which is the subject of a richly illustrated book, spans the 20s through the 70s. He signed most of his posters, so these were not anonymous studio or agency generics.