Milton Glaser

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Milton Glaser 1929–, widely considered America's preeminent graphic designer of the last half of the 20th cent., b. New York City. After graduating (1951) from New York's Cooper Union Art School, he studied in Italy. In 1954 Glaser and three partners founded a groundbreaking New York design firm, the Push Pin Studio. From that point on, Glaser's ever-changing design work, which draws widely on art history, has had enormous international influence. He left Push Pin in 1974, opened his own design firm, and later (1984) became a partner in another New York studio. He was art director of New York magazine (1968–76) and the Village Voice newspaper (1975–77) and was responsible for the design of many other publications. Over the course of his long career, his creations have tended to change from hard-edged Pop and psychadelic designs to a softer, more expressionistic or naturalistic style. Glaser's work includes the creation of many posters, notably the iconic Bob Dylan silhouette (1966); book and record covers; book illustrations; type; corporate logos; interiors; and architectural projects. One of his most famous designs is the 1976 "I Love New York" logo.

Bibliography: See his The Milton Glaser Poster Book (1977), Milton Glaser: Graphic Design (rev. ed. 1998), and Art Is Work: Graphic Design, Interiors, Objects, and Illustrations (2000); S. Bass, Six Chapters in Design (1997) and P. B. Meggs, A History of Graphic Design (1997).