Jack Unruh (July 31, 1935 – May 16, 2016) was an American commercial
illustrator whose works featured in
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
projects for all types of companies. Unruh won several awards from the
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition.
History
Founding
The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...
. His work focuses primarily on the
outdoors.
History
Unruh was born July 31, 1935, in
Pretty Prairie,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
and primarily resided in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. He passed on May 16, 2016.
Unruh earned a B.F.A. from
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
. Among his projects are illustrations for the Congo Gorilla Forest at the
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...
. He is a former instructor at
East Texas State University
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
where two of his students were Michael Schwab and
Gary Panter
Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...
.
A native of Pretty Prairie, Kansas and the son of an Air Force pilot, Jack lived in a variety of places while growing up. After graduating from Washington University in St Louis he settled and began his illustration career in Dallas, Texas.
Much of his work parallels an interest in the outdoors, while some of the more conceptual illustrations are a result of waiting for the hatch or watching the sunset over West Texas quail country.
The results have been published in ''Entertainment Weekly'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Atlantic Monthly'', ''Time'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ''Reader's Digest'', ''New York'', ''National Geographic'', ''Sports Afield'', ''Field and Stream'', ''GQ'', ''Road and Track'' and ''Texas Monthly''. See the most recent article:
Annual reports include Borg Warner, MCI, Transamerica, Halliburton, Brinker International, Herman Miller, Sony, Hartford Financial Services, United Technologies, Entergy and Reader's Digest. IBM, Citicorp, Exxon/Mobil, Budweiser, American Airlines, Champion Paper, Interstate Batteries, Remington Firearms, Leatherman Tools, Avia, Georgia Pacific, The Bronx Zoo, Sage Rods, Kendall Jackson, Pac Bell are among Unruh's many advertising assignments.
Unruh has appeared in ''Communication Arts Illustration Annual'' since its inception and has been in numerous shows of American Illustration, Graphis, AIGA and Print. Graphis featured an article, "Jack Unruh, Quick on the Draw." in the 2002 Sept/Oct issue.
Awards include:
*Gold and Silver Medals - New York Society of Illustrators
*1969 Art Director of the Year - Dallas Art Directors Club
*1977 Golden Egg Award - Dallas Society of Visual Communications,
*1988 Distinguished Alumni Award - Washington University
*1998 Hamilton King Award - New York Society of Illustrators
*2006 Illustrators Hall of Fame Induction - New York Society of Illustrators
See also
*
Illustrator
*
List of illustrators
This is an alphabetical list of notable illustrators.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
* Chao Yat
Z
See also
* List of caricaturists
* List of cartoonists
*List o ...
References
;General
Graphis, Sep/Oct 2002 - Jack Unruh: Quick on the draw, by Stuart I. FrolickBak Magazine / Jack Unruh InterviewBronx Zoo - Congo Gorilla Forest - Jack Unruh*all text fro
External links
Jack Unruh Collection, Modern Graphic History LibraryArchives for licensinga
ProFile Stock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unruh, Jack
1935 births
2016 deaths
American illustrators
People from Dallas
People from Reno County, Kansas
Washington University in St. Louis alumni