Post-War America

The most recent lecture was carried out by Dwayne, and was based upon the post-war illustration of America in the 1950s. The comparison between the state of the UK and USA post-war was stark, and that is immensely evident in the artwork of the time. American artwork was bright, vibrant, and rather lighthearted, while the British presented a much more dull, and desaturated reflection of life.
     I really loved exploring the artists of the time period - the style was distinct, and presented an idealised, almost utopian, version of living. I will definitely delve deeper, and further my knowledge of this artistic time period, I feel that I would learn a lot.

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Bob Peak

Born in Denver in 1927, Bob Peak was a commercial illustrator most notably known for his movie posters. He first displayed an interest in the arts at 7, but did not commit himself completely to his talents until he had graduated from Wichita State University, and served in the Navy. After this, he went on to study at the Art Centre College of Design in Los Angeles. His career, however, did not completely begin until he was hired to create an 'Old Hickory Whiskey' campaign. From that point onward, his career skyrocketed. Peak was hired for national magazines and advertising, and even received the largest commission of an individual artist from the U.S Postal Service to create a series of stamps for both the 1984 summer and winter Olympics.
      Peak was hired by United Artist in 1961 in order to create promotional material for the movie 'West Side Story'. It was at this point that his innovative, unique style was recognised and adopted by numerous film companies to create their posters. He created over 100 editorial posters, for movies such as 'Camelot'; 'My Fair Lady'; 'Startrek', and 'Superman'. Collectively, this was the work that earned him the name 'The Father of the Modern Hollywood Movie Poster'. During the peak of his career, he also created 45 covers for Time Magazine, the most recognisable being of Mother Teresa.
       In 1961, Peak was awarded Artist of the Year from the Artists Guild of New York, then 16 years later, he was elected into the Hall of Fame by the Society of Illustrators. Also, for his contributions to the film industry he was presented the Key Art Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hollywood Reporter in 1992. Later that year, Bob Peake died at age 64, in the Scottsdale Memorial North Hospital. 

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My own art inspired by the era

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Links

http://www.americanartarchives.com/peak,b.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Peak
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/06/arts/robert-peak-designer-of-stamps-and-film-posters-is-dead-at-64.html
https://bobpeakgallery.com/about/