Milton Glaser Collection

The Milton Glaser Collection provides comprehensive documentation of Glaser’s professional career as a designer and illustrator, from his earliest work as a student in late 1940s and early 1950s, to his years as a principal in Push Pin Studios, to the work generated by his studio, Milton Glaser Inc. (1974–2020). The Collection includes approximately 700 pieces of original art, 1,700 sketches, 380 posters, 150 prints, as well as 29 boxes of newspapers and magazines, album covers, menus, letterhead, annual reports, brochures, and books designed and/or illustrated by Glaser. Series I. Sketches and original art. This series contains sketches and original art, as well as mechanicals, composites, and color guides, for most of the projects of Milton Glaser’s career. The series is subdivided by item type. Sketches are split between two print box sizes: 23 in. x 29 in. (Boxes 1-35; 65-69) or 16.5 in. × 20.5 in. (Boxes 36–64; 70–82); very large items are housed in a flat file, drawer 10. Please consult Series VII for additional materials received from Milton Glaser in 2010. Subseries A. Posters (this subseries is further subdivided by decade). This subseries contains sketches, mechanicals, composites, color guides, and original art for posters. It is subdivided by decade; within each decade, all items are organized alphabetically by client name, or title, if client name was not available. To find the corresponding poster, consult Subseries II.A. Subseries B. Logos and Identity. This subseries contains sketches and original art for corporate and institutional identity projects. It is organized alphabetically by client name. Clients include Brooklyn Brewery, New York State Department of Commerce (I Love New York 20), Overlook Press, the School of Visual Arts, Zoetrope Studios, and Aurora Restaurant. Printed examples for some clients may be available; consult Subseries II.E. Subseries C. Brochures and Other Promotional Materials, Annual Reports, Menus, and Cards. This subseries contains sketches and original art for promotional materials, annual reports, menus and cards created for corporate and institutional clients. Printed examples for some clients may be available; consult subseries II.E (Printed Samples), II.F (Menus), or II.G (Packaging). Subseries D. Objects. This subseries contains sketches and original art for objects designed by Milton Glaser. Examples include a martini glass for Bombay Gin, lamps and umbrellas for the Rainbow Room, and blueprints for a table designed for the Formica Corporation. Subseries E. Book Illustration (contains subdivisions for works by Apollinaire, Baudelaire, Gogol, Vian, and Shakespeare). This subseries contains sketches and original art for books illustrated by Milton Glaser. Consult Subseries II.M for the published books. Subseries F. Book Jackets. This subseries contains sketches and original art for book jackets designed and/or illustrated by Milton Glaser. Consult subseries II.K (book jackets) or subseries II.N (books) for published versions. Subseries G. Record Album and Compact Disc Covers. This subseries contains sketches and original art for album covers and CD covers designed and/or illustrated by Milton Glaser. See subseries II.I and II.J for final products, if available. Subseries H. Portraits. This subseries contains sketches and original art for portraits by Milton Glaser. Many portraits were used in magazine and newspaper articles; see subseries II.B for published versions. Subseries I. Calendars. This subseries contains sketches and original art for calendars designed and illustrated by Glaser. See subseries II.O for printed calendars. Subseries J. Figures and Nudes Subseries K. Fantasy Subseries L. Abstracts Subseries M. Food Subseries N. Flowers and Trees Subseries O. Cartoons and Humorous Drawings Subseries P. Musical Instruments Subseries Q. Miscellaneous Artwork. This subseries contains sketches and original art for work that was not necessarily done for a commercial or institutional client. Subseries R. Animals Subseries S. Periodicals. This subseries contains sketches and original art for work done for magazines and newspapers. Consult subseries II.B for published versions. Subseries T. Advertising. This subseries contains sketches and original art for work done for advertisements. Consult subseries II.C for published versions. Subseries U. Interiors, Exteriors, and Furniture. This subseries contains sketches and photographs of interiors, exteriors, and furniture designed by Glaser. Highlights include Aurora and Trattoria dell’Arte restaurants. Subseries V. Limited Edition Prints (includes final prints). This subseries contains sketches and original art for prints by Milton Glaser. Unlike the poster subseries, this subseries includes sketches, original art, and prints. Prints range from monoprints to silkscreens to lithographs. Series II. Printed Materials. Please consult Series VII for additional materials received from Milton Glaser in 2010. Subseries A. Posters (this subseries further subdivided by decade) Subseries B. Periodicals Subseries C. Advertisements Subseries D. Typefaces. This subseries contains typefaces designed by Glaser. They appear as a full alphabet; most are mounted on foam core. Subseries E. Printed Samples (Letterhead, Brochures and Promotional Material, Annual Reports, Cards) Subseries F. Oversize Printed Samples Subseries G. Menus Subseries H. Packaging Subseries I. Record Album Covers Subseries J. Compact Disc Covers Subseries K. Book Jackets Subseries L. Push Pin Subseries M. Books — Illustration Subseries N. Books — Jackets Subseries O. Calendars Series III. Files. This series mainly contains office files from the Sesame Place project, and includes sketches, correspondence, and research. Also included are files for the Charvoz computer table, Astor Place Subway Station, Grand Union, and Sunoco gas station. Please consult Series VII for additional materials received from Milton Glaser in 2010. Series IV. Three-Dimensional Objects. This series includes political buttons designed for The Nation, a Brooklyn Brewery bottle cap, jewelry, and a paper weight bearing the Glaser-designed logo for the School of Visual Arts Fortieth Anniversary. Series V. Exhibitions. Includes exhibition catalogs for the many shows featuring the work of Milton Glaser. Series VI. Writing about and by Milton Glaser Subseries A. Books. This series includes the two major monographs on Glaser: Milton Glaser Graphic Design (New York: Penguin Books, 1973) and Art is Work (New York: The Overlook Press, 2000). Subseries B. Articles Series VII. Additional Materials. This series includes correspondence, sketches, original art, and printed materials received from Milton Glaser in January 2010. Milton Glaser is among the most celebrated graphic designers in the world. He co-founded the revolutionary Push Pin Studios with Seymour Chwast and Ed Sorel in 1954, founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968, established Milton Glaser, Inc. in 1974, and teamed with Walter Bernard in 1983 to form the publication design firm WBMG. Throughout his career, Glaser has been a prolific creator of posters and prints and has produced iconic designs, such as the ubiquitous “I ♥ NY” campaign. His artwork has been featured in exhibits worldwide, including one-man shows at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He passed away on June 26, 2020, his 91st birdthday. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Milton Glaser was born in the Bronx in 1929 and attended New York City’s High School of Music and Art and the Cooper Union art school in New York, from which he graduated in 1951. He studied with Giorgio Morandi, via a Fulbright Scholarship, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italy. In 1954, Glaser, along with Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, Edward Sorel, founded Push Pin Studios. He and Chwast directed the organization for twenty years, which had a profound effect on graphic design. In 1968, he co-founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker, a publication that established a new format and style for city magazines. Glaser was president and design director until 1977. In 1974 Glaser established Milton Glaser, Inc., working in a wide variety of design disciplines. Glaser has produced identity programs for many corporate and institutional organizations. He has been responsible for numerous environmental and interior projects, including exhibitions, interiors and exteriors of restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, and other retail and commercial environments. Glaser has also designed and illustrated more than 300 posters for clients in the areas of publishing, music, theater, film, institutional and civic enterprise, as well as those for commercial products and services. Glaser’s commissions include the I Love NY logo, commissioned by the state of New York in 1976; the design of a 600-foot mural for the New Federal Office Building in Indianapolis in 1974; and the complete graphic and decorative programs for the restaurants in the World Trade Center. He has also designed a number of architectural projects including Sesame Place, a children’s educational play park in Pennsylvania. Over the course of fifteen years, Milton Glaser was involved with the re-design of a principal American supermarket chain, Grand Union, a project that included all the company architecture, interiors, and packaging. In 1987, Mr. Glaser was responsible for the graphic program of the Rainbow Room complexes for the Rockefeller Center Management Corporation, New York. From 1986– 1989, he created the graphic design, theming, and signage for Franklin Mills, a retail mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in 1988, he completed the exterior, interior, and all graphic elements of Trattoria dell’Arte, one of several New York restaurants he has designed. In 1993, he designed the logo for Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Angels in America. Glaser teamed with Walter Bernard in 1983 to form the publication design firm WBMG. The firm has been responsible for the design for more than fifty periodicals around the world including The Washington Post, La Vanguardia in Barcelona, and O Globo in Rio de Janeiro (the work of WBMG is represented only in small part in the Milton Glaser Collection). Milton Glaser is the current acting Chairman of the Board at the School of Visual Arts. He has been an instructor at SVA since 1960, and is on the Board of Directors at The Cooper Union, New York. He has been affiliated with The International Design Conference in Aspen since 1972 (president 1990–91), and the American Institute of Graphic Arts, where he was vice-president and co-chair of the 1989 National Convention. He is the recipient of The Society of Illustrator’s Gold Medal, the St. Gauden’s Medal from The Cooper Union, and the Prix Savignac for the World’s Most Memorable Poster of 1996. Milton Glaser is a member of The Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). He holds honorary doctorates from The Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Moore College; Philadelphia Museum School; The School of Visual Arts; Queens College, CUNY; the New York University at Buffalo, and London’s Royal College of Art. He is an elected member of the Pinocateca in Bologna, Italy, and in 1992 received the Honors Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He received the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, for his profound and meaningful long-term contribution to the contemporary practice of design In 2009, he received the National Medal of Arts, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Glaser’s artwork has been featured in exhibits worldwide, including one-man shows at both the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1977) and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1975). He has also exhibited at the Lincoln Center Gallery, New York (1981) and the Houghton Gallery at The Cooper Union, also in New York (1984). His work is in the permanent collections of many museums.