The Society of Illustrators is a

professional society A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition.

History

Founding

Illustrators at play 2-19-14 LCCN2014695493 (cropped)

The Society of Illustrators was founded on February 1, 1901, by a group of nine artists and one advising businessman. The advising businessman was Henry S. Fleming, a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

dealer who offered his legal staff to the Society in an advisory role and also served as the Society of Illustrators Secretary and Treasurer for many years. The nine artists who, with Fleming, founded the Society were

Otto Henry Bacher Otto Henry Bacher (May 31, 1856, Cleveland - August 16, 1909, Bronxville, New York) was an American artist; primarily known for his etchings and illustrations. He also painted oils in a variety of genres. Biography Early life He was born to a fa ...

Frank Vincent DuMond Frank Vincent DuMond (August 20, 1865 – February 6, 1951) was one of the most influential teacher-painters in 20th-century America. He was an illustrator and American Impressionist painter of portraits and landscapes, and a prominent teach ...

, Henry Hutt, Albert Wenzell,

Albert Sterner Albert Edward Sterner (March 8, 1863 – December 16, 1946) was a British-American illustrator and painter. Early life Sterner was born to a Jewish family in London, and attended King Edward's School, Birmingham. After a brief period in Germany, ...

Benjamin West Clinedinst Benjamin West Clinedinst (October 14, 1859 – September 12, 1931) was an American book illustrator and portrait painter. ''The New International Encyclopedia'' considered that his "sympathetic collaboration" with the authors of the books he illu ...

, F. C. Yohn, Louis Loeb, and

Reginald Birch Reginald Bathurst Birch (May 2, 1856 – June 17, 1943) was an English-American artist and illustrator. He was best known for his depiction of the titular hero of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1886 novel ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'', which started a cra ...

. The mission statement was "to promote generally the art of illustration and to hold exhibitions from time to time". Women first became part of the organization in 1903, when

Elizabeth Shippen Green Elizabeth Shippen Green (September 1, 1871 – May 29, 1954) was an American illustrator. She illustrated children's books and worked for publications such as ''The Ladies' Home Journal'', ''The Saturday Evening Post'' and ''Harper's Magazine''. ...

and

Florence Scovel Shinn Florence Scovel Shinn (September 24, 1871 in Camden, New Jersey – October 17, 1940) was an American artist and book illustrator who became a New Thought spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer in her middle years.Gatlin, Linda; Edwards, Rita"P ...

were named Associate Members; but women were prohibited from full membership until 1922.

World War I

During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

years, with

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the ...

as the acting president, Society members worked through the

Committee on Public Information The Committee on Public Information (1917–1919), also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States under the Wilson administration created to influence public opinion to support the ...

's Division of Pictorial Publicity, creating many original poster designs, including James M. Flagg's

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

iconic recruiting poster of

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

, as well as advertising of the massive War Bond effort.

Photo journalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

was impractical during these years and eight Society members, commissioned Captains in the Engineers, were sent to France to sketch the war. After the war, the Society operated the School for Disabled Soldiers.

1920–1930

In 1920, the Society was incorporated, and in 1922 women were allowed to become full members. The early history of the Society was documented in 1927 and 1939 by Norman Price. His hand written notes are held in the Society of Illustrators archives. During the 1920s and 1930s the Society presented the Illustrator's Shows, featuring artists and their models as actors, songwriters, set designers and painters. Professional talent such as the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

band and

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

also performed. Through member and set designer Watson Barrett, the Illustrator's Show of 1925 was held at the Shubert Theatre, and the

Shuberts The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...

purchased the rights to the skits for their Broadway productions of ''

Artists and Models ''Artists and Models'' is a 1955 American musical romantic comedy film in VistaVision directed by Frank Tashlin, marking Martin and Lewis's 14th feature together as a team. The film co-stars Shirley MacLaine and Dorothy Malone, with Eva Gabor an ...

''. In 1939, those funds allowed the Society to acquire its present headquarters, at 128 East 63rd Street.

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

's ''Dover Coach'' became the backdrop for the bar on the fourth floor, donated by Rockwell in honor of the Society's new building. This painting currently hangs in the Members Dining Room.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Society again contributed to the war effort with a massive campaign of posters. Society members visited veterans’ hospitals to sketch the wounded, and these art works were sent to the families to boost morale. The Illustrator's Jazz Band was formed to entertain the wounded, and an ensemble by the same name plays at Society events up until the present. STOP HIM AND THE JOB'S DONE - NARA - 513560

STOP HIM AND THE JOB'S DONE - NARA - 513560

1950s

In 1948, the Joint Ethics Committee, of which The Society is a member developed the first Code of Fair Practice, which still serves today in addressing concerns of artists and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

s working in the

graphic communication Graphic communication as the name suggests is communication using graphic elements. These elements include symbols such as glyphs and icons, images such as drawings and photographs, and can include the passive contributions of substrate, colour ...

s field where abuses and misunderstandings regarding usage rights and ownership of works of illustration and other works of art created for a wide range of

public media Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

. In 1954, the U.S. Air Force began sending Society of Illustrators members around the world to document its activities. This program continues today. Thousands of paintings have been contributed over the years. The year 1959 saw the Society hold its first Annual Exhibition, juried by

Bob Peak Robert M. Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) was an American commercial illustrator. He is best known for his developments in the design of the modern film poster. His artwork has been on the cover of ''Time'' magazine, ''TV Guide'', an ...

Bradbury Thompson J. Bradbury Thompson (March 25, 1911 – November 1, 1995) was an American graphic designer and art director known for his work designing magazines and postage stamps. Early life and education J. Bradbury Thompson was born on March 25, 1911 in To ...

Stevan Dohanos Stevan Dohanos (May 18, 1907 – July 4, 1994) was an American artist and illustrator of the social realism school, best known for his ''Saturday Evening Post'' covers, and responsible for several of the ''Don't Talk'' set of World War II propagan ...

and others. It opened with 350 original works of art and led to the publication of the first ''Illustrators Annual''.

Present

2001 was the Society's centennial year, a 12-month celebration begun with the U.S. Postal issue, Great American Illustrators. That year was punctuated with the 9/11 Memorial Exhibition, ''Prevailing Human Spirit''. The Society of illustrators continues to maintain an annual of illustration, student scholarship competitions and various awards honoring excellence in the field of illustration. The Society maintains outreach programs with The New York City Parks Department (2001–present), the New York City Board of Education (1999–present). Anelle Miller has been the director of the Society since 2007.

Presidents

As of 2023, the president of the Society of Illustrators is Leslie Cober. Notable past presidents of the Society: *

(1904–1905, 1909–1920) *

(1907–1908) — founding member *

George Hand Wright George Hand Wright (1872–1951) was an American painter, illustrator and printmaker. Life Born in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a blacksmith, he attended the Spring Garden Institute, a local technical school, a ...

(1926–1927) *

Wallace Morgan Wallace Morgan (1875 – April 24, 1948) was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I. Biography Morgan was born in 1875, and he grew up in Albany, New York, where his family had moved shortly after his birth. Upon graduation fr ...

(1929–1936) *

Harold von Schmidt Harold von Schmidt (May 19, 1893 – June 3, 1982) was an American illustrator, who specialized in magazine interior illustrations. Early life Born in Alameda, California in 1893, he was orphaned at the age of five. After a year in an orphanage ...

(1938–1941) *

Albert Dorne Albert Dorne (February 7, 1906 - December 15, 1965) was an American illustrator and entrepreneur, and was co-founder of correspondence schools for aspiring artists, photographers, and writers. Dorne was co-founder of the Code of Ethics and Fair Pr ...

(1947–1948)

The Museum of American Illustration and Exhibitions

The Museum of American Illustration was established at the Society in 1981, under the

stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...

of then President John Witt. The Society's permanent collection, featuring pieces on rotational display throughout the building, includes nearly 2500 works by such artists as

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

and

Bernie Fuchs Bernie Fuchs (October 29, 1932 – September 17, 2009) was an American illustrator known for advertising art, magazine illustration and portraiture, including for a series of U.S. postage stamps. Biography Fuchs was born in O'Fallon, Illinois ...

. The Museum hosts the Annual Illustration show and smaller topical exhibits related to illustration. In recent years, the main galleries have played host to numerous acclaimed, contemporary, and popular exhibitions including: * ''

R. Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

: Lines Drawn on Paper'' (March 23- April 11, 2011), curated by Monte Beauchamp. * ''

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

: A Celebration of the Artist and his Work'' (June 11-August 17, 2013), curated by Justin Schiller and Dennis David. * ''The ZAP Show'' (March 2-May 17, 2016), curated by Monte Beauchamp and Eric Sack. * ''

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

: The Centennial Celebration'' 1917–2017 (March 1-June 3, 2017). * ''The Art of

MARCH March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

: A Civil Rights Masterpiece'' (February 28-June 30, 2018), curated by John Lind and

Charles Brownstein The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal ...

. * ''Illustrating

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

: Eighty Years of Comics and Pop Culture'' (June 12-October 12, 2019), curated by Rob Pistella, John Lind, and

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by American popular culture. Comic books w ...

. The

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) is a not-for-profit arts organization and former museum in New York City devoted to comic books, comic strips and other forms of cartoon art. MoCCA sponsored events ranging from book openings to educati ...

(MoCCA) transferred its assets in August 2012 to the Society, which has continued the MoCCA Fest. The Society also has a gallery on the second floor dedicated to MoCCA that frequently hosts smaller exhibits of comic book art.

Recognition

The Society of Illustrators inaugurated the Hall of Fame program in 1958, to recognize "distinguished achievement in the art of illustration". The first recipient was

. Like other recognized artists, he was elected by former Society presidents for his contributions to the field of illustration. Every year since 1958, one or more illustrators have been added to the Hall of Fame. In 2001, two additional forms of recognition were added: Dean Cornwell Recognition Award and the Arthur William Brown Achievement Award, which may be awarded annually. In 1965, The Society established the Hamilton King Award, which is given annually to one society member. In 1981, The Society established the Student Scholarship Competition, which has continued annually to the present. The Highest Award presented to a student by the society is the Zankel Scholarship Award, established in 2006 in honor of Arthur Zankel, an advocate for higher education whose bequest made the scholarship possible.

References

External links

* {{Authority control * Art and design-related professional associations Museums in Manhattan