On this day, May 8, 1920, graphic designer and illustrator Saul Bass born in New York City. Bass studied at the Art Students League in New York. He began working in Hollywood in the 1940s. His first film poster was for Otto Preminger’s film Carmen Jones in 1954. Soon he was also producing title sequences as
On this day, May 7, 1951, comic book artist and writer Michael T. Gilbert was born. He studied at SUNY, New Paltz. Early in his career Gilbert self-published an underground commix. He has also worked on the Elric series and on Mr. Monster. Gilbert has worked for Marvel and DC comics and he has written and
On this day, May 6, 1885, pulp illustrator George Avison was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. After high school Avison worked at an engraving house in Boston and then moved to New York to study at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri and Edward Penfield. By 1908 his work began to appear in many
On this day, May 5, 1907, pulp illustrator Lyman Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois. Anderson studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and then with Harvey Dunn at the Grand Central School of Art in New York. He began creating pulp illustrations in 1929 and by the late 1930s was also
On this day, May 4, 1958, artist and illustrator Keith Haring was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. Trained at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Haring was also influenced by his father, a cartoonist. Influenced by popular culture and graffiti, Haring also created illustrations for advertising and for the promotion of causes he felt
On this day, May 3, 1935, illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Smith began working as a kindergarten teacher. While teaching she also studied art. Her first illustration was published when she was 25 in St. Nicholas magazine. Smith's memorable illustrations, primarily of children and mothers, graced more than 40 books, advertisements, magazine articles, and
On this day, May 2, 1984, animator, producer, director, and puppeteer Bob (Robert Emerson) Clampett died in Detroit, Michigan. Clampett was best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Brothers. Without graduating high school, Clampett joined the team working on Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and designed some of their characters
On this day, May 1, 1940, comic book artist Alex Niño was born in Tarlac, Luzon, The Philippines. Niño was recruited to work for DC Comics in 1971. He moved to the U. S. in 1974. Niño’s stylized and imaginative work has been influential on other comic creators and sci-fi illustrators.
On this day, April 30, 1994, children’s book illustrator Richard Scarry died in Gstaad, Switzerland. Scarry studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He served in the army during WWII and after produced work for various magazines. In 1949 Scarry began to produce work for Little Golden Books. His most famous
On this day, April 29, 1894, Pete Martinez was born in Porterville, California. Martinez studied art at the Mark Hopkins School of Art in San Francisco and then at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art. Known as a Cowboy artist, Martinez also served in the cavalry in WWI, worked as a jockey, and a rodeo cowboy.