As director of the SVA Gallery, 1964-1969, Shirley Glaser, Milton Glaser’s wife, organized a series of conceptually creative group shows; they were purposely non-commercial and intended to serve as an educational tool for SVA students. She operated at a stunning pace, producing a new exhibition every few weeks, calling up artists herself and then ferrying the artworks to the SVA Gallery via subway or taxi. The small posters publicizing these exhibitions were all designed by Milton Glaser and represent some of the most important work of his career.

Much of the documentation from these shows has been lost to time. “Inside the Big Apple: Paintings of New York Interiors,” was held at the Visual Arts Gallery from October 9-November 1, 1968 and featured work from artists Arakawa, Richard Artschwager, Jack Beal, Robert De Niro (Sr.), Howard Kanovitz, Alex Katz, Herbert Katzman, John Koch, Sylvia Mangold, Malcolm Morley, and Lowell Nesbitt. I’ve been unable to uncover any press coverage but we do have Milton Glaser’s poster for the exhibition, along with a couple sketches.

While Milton’s sketches reveal a more literal concept - an apple in a room - the final poster is somewhat more abstract, featuring globe-like apples rotating in space.