Ben Shahn: The Most Influential Illustrator of the 20th Century... or "just plain bad drawing"?

Recently a friend who shares my passion for illustration sent a note. He'd been perusing one of those massive volumes that collect and showcase "some of today's hottests young illustrators." In his opinion (and I have tremendous respect for this particular friend's opinion) he thought it was crap. Full of "faux naïve stuff, or just plain bad drawing."This is a complaint I hear often - both in the comments section of this blog and from (commercial)...

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Employment Opportunities for Fashion Illustrators

What were the employment opportunities like for mid-century fashion illustrators? Based on Merle Bassett's first-hand account, there were plenty of jobs for young illustrators in the fashion industry during the 1950s.Merele told me, "Much of my success was as a result of talent and luck. Fortunately the competition for work back then was not as ferocious as it is today. I do recall being received well at most art director's offices... many were...

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Merle Bassett: "Fashion illustration came so easily for me..."

Merle Bassett was featured in the September 1952 issue of Art Director & Studio News as that issue's "Upcoming Artist"...I never imagined that one day, nearly 60 years after that article was published, I would receive a note from Merle Bassett himself! Last October, with the help of TI list member Daniel Zalkus, I connected and began corresponding with Merle Bassett. Merle shared many details about the early days of his career as a fashion...

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