The multi-disciplinary and talented Seymour Chwast is not only famous for his illustrations, but contributions to the graphic design and art-direction spheres of the commercial world.  In 1982, Chwast completed an illustration for the Peace March Committee, specifically an announcement promoting their anti-nuke rally on June 12 in New York.

Joseph Pennell (1857-1926) | Watercolor sketch for poster, 1918 | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Div., Washington, D.C., DRWG/MA – Pennell, no. 3377 (Cabinet B) Near the end of WWI, the U. S. government issued the Fourth Liberty Loan on September 28, 1918. The Loan was to float government bonds

Edward Arthur Wilson (1886-1970)| Mont Saint-Michel, 1929| Advertising illustration for Cadillac-LaSalle, 1929 One of the advantages of age (if there are any) is the long memory to draw from and to relate to new images and things. Many years ago, when television was still new, I remember the mellifluous voice of the invisible announcer flowing

It’s the stereotypical art class in a studio that we all know. The students hold their paintbrushes and are dressed in their artist wear—similar jackets or smocks and loose, black ties. The female nude, with her back to the viewer, is elevated on a stand. Examples of artwork hang from

The Harvest Dinner, 1941| Advertising illustration for the H. J. Heinz Company   The Heinz ketchup advertisement this illustration by Saul Tepper was created to accompany is titled, The Harvest Dinner: An Old American Institution. Tepper’s original painting shows a group of more than thirteen sun-tanned farmers seated at a large

In his blog Today’s Inspiration, illustrator and teacher Leif Peng shared some wonderful illustrations by James R. Bingham this past spring.* Of all the work there was one illustration for a Perry Mason story that stuck with me. For The man twisted . . .  Bingham marvelously relayed a visual

Frederick G. Cooper was a writer, cartoonist, designer, and illustrator whose penchant for using lower case letters made him known as “F. G. Cooper, the lower case artist.”* An early 20th-century book on posters describes Cooper’s importance thus, “F. G. Cooper had contributed consistently to the development of the poster in

Edward Hopper (1882-1967)| Study for Smash the Hun, 1918| For poster illustration Early in painter Edward Hopper’s career he earned his living making illustrations. As a young man his parents insisted that Hopper study commercial art in order to ensure the means for earning a living. While Hopper did not

Adolph Treidler (1886-1991)|She’s a WOW, 1942 J. Howard Miller (1918-2004)|We Can Do It!, 1942                     Since the Smithsonian Museum promoted J. Howard Miller’s 1942 We Can Do It, a poster of the woman worker with her arm raised and fist clenched, produced by Westinghouse to encourage

George Watson Barratt (1884-1962)|The Serenade, 1911|Illustration for Harper’s Weekly (June 3, 1911)|Collection of the Delaware Art Museum, 1986-53 Summer is here. The insert ads in our local newspapers include a variety of equipment used to enhance our seasonal out-door activities like sports, picnics, and camping out. While recreational camping may feel as though it’s been