In the century following Pyle’s death in 1911, American illustration has diversified into a creative empire that includes a wide range of art forms. From animated films and computer-generated images to editorial and conceptual art, America’s storytelling artists use the latest technologies and a variety of media to communicate with ever-increasing audiences.
Guest Curator David Apatoff, illustration scholar and author of biographies on Robert Fawcett and Albert Dorne, highlights the following eight artists: story illustrator Bernie Fuchs; graphic designer Milton Glaser; MAD caricaturist and comic artist Mort Drucker; The New Yorker cover artist and character designer for animated films, Peter de Sève; editorial artist John Cuneo; painter and book artist Phil Hale; painter and magazine illustrator Sterling Hundley; and Pixar production designer Ralph Eggleston.
“No single exhibition could possibly do justice to the noisy, rambunctious history of illustration over the past century,” explains Apatoff. “I’ve chosen instead to feature eight individuals whose diverse talents demonstrate that illustration is no longer the singular profession it was in Pyle’s day. It pervades our culture, reaching out to us from billboards, television, store windows, and computer screens.”
About the Artists
Bernie Fuchs began his career creating highly realistic paintings for automobile advertisements. By the 1960s, he was at the forefront of a wave of innovative illustrators whose impressionistic works redefined the field. Before his death in 2009, Fuchs enjoyed a long and distinguished career and became well- known around the world for his sense of color and design.
Milton Glaser is among the world’s most celebrated graphic and architectural designers, recognized for the diverse richness of his inventive work. His achievements range from the iconic “I ♥ New York” logo to complete graphic and decorative programs for public spaces. He has been the subject of one-man shows at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Mort Drucker is one of MAD’s most famous artists. An influential caricaturist, he is internationally renowned for his pen and ink work and his TIME covers are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Phil Hale pushes the boundaries between fine art and illustration, consistently making powerful compositions and combining traditional realism with moody, complex, and evocative themes. Although highly regarded for his covers for books by Joseph Conrad and Steven King, Hale is recognized internationally for his work in the field of fine art.
Sterling Hundley seamlessly combines traditional artistic media with digital tools. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vibe, and The New York Times. Hundley has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Illustrators Club in Washington, D.C. An influential teacher and mentor, he is an instructor at The Illustration Academy and a Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.
John Cuneo’s powerful drawings have appeared in many major publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and The Atlantic. He is highly regarded for the humor in his work and has been awarded several medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York.
Peter De Sève began as an editorial illustrator in the 1980s and is well known for his covers for The New Yorker, along with his illustrations for TIME and Newsweek. He has also created character designs for animated films produced by Disney, DreamWorks Studios, Pixar, and Twentieth Century Fox, including Mulan, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., and Ice Age.
Ralph Eggleston was the Art Director at Pixar for Toy Story, the first full-length computer-animated film, as well as for The Incredibles. He was also the Production Designer for films such as Finding Nemo and WALL·E. His work has been recognized for its color and composition, as well as its sense of fantasy.
State of the Art: Illustration 100 Years After Howard Pyle is made possible, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
On view February 9, 2013 – June 1, 2013
The Delaware Art Museum, located at 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806, is open Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sunday noon – 4:00 p.m. Admission fees are charged as follows: Adults (19 – 59) $12, Seniors (60+) $10, Students (with valid ID) $6, Youth (7 – 18) $6, and Children (6 and under) free. Admission fees are waived every Sunday.
For more information, call 302-571-9590 or 866-232-3714 (toll free), or visit the website at delart.org.
