Lynd Ward in the '60s: Part 1

Even in Lynd Ward's day the average fee for illustrating an entire book made wood engraving a financially unfeasible technique. In such cases, not surprisingly, Ward turned to other speedier techniques and materials. As mentioned in yesterday's post, among those Ward had a natural affinity for, pen and ink drawing was a favourite. This series, reprinted in a 1963 issue of Children's Digest magazine (from a book published a year earlier) demonstrates...

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Lynd Ward on "side-tracking the human tendency to fall into ruts"

Not all of Lynd Ward's wood engravings were done for books - he did on occasion work for advertising and editorial clients. One memorable late 1940s series of ads was commissioned by the U.S. Pipe and Foundry Company and resulted in Ward's inclusion in the 1947 and '48 NY Art Director's Annuals.Ward also worked in other media besides wood engraving. That labour intensive process wasn't always ideal for every assignment - nor was Ward averse to...

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Lynd Ward's Woodcuts

As with some others who seem to straddle the line between fine and commercial art, Lynd Ward stakes out his own distinct territory in the illustrative landscape. His best known work, which is easily found all over the Internet, is from the 1930s. Ward studied design theory and art history at Columbia University, followed by an eight month stint at the Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig where he learned the technical aspects of book structure and...

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Denis Bishop and the Art of Mechanized Warfare

We end this week within striking distance of where we began, with a host of beautifully illustrated machinery, most of it from the military realm. Although these illustrations present their subjects in a far more reserved manner than did the model kit box art we looked at on Monday and Tuesday, there's no denying the understated artistry in Denis Bishop's renderings of these historical vehicles and machines. More than a few friends who previewed...

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