The Art of Bill Charmatz (1925 - 2005)

 

It will be American illustrator Bill Charmatz's 100th birthday this November. He was born in NYC and attended the School of Industrial arts. He served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1944. 

He went to the NYU Teachers College, New School for Social Research, NY Ecole des Beau Arts Fountainbleu, and Acadamie de le Grande Chaumiere in Paris. Bill was also an instructor at The School of Visual Arts for 3 years. 

But mostly, he was a working commercial artist, with an extensive list of clients and publications. For sixty years, from 1945 to 2005, he contributed to The New York Times. This was in addition to Playboy, The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, The Washington Post, Time, TV Guide and others. For twenty years he created a weekly column for Sports Illustrated.

Clients included Exxon, Price-Waterhouse, and the advertising agencies Young and Rubicam, J. Walter Thompson, and Ogilvy and Mather.

 

From his bio: 

"Bill Charmatz is listed in the 'Who's Who of American Art,', is a member of the Society of Illustrators, was the founder and Vice president of the Graphic Artist Guild and recipient of numerous awards; Art Directors Club of N.Y., Chicago Society of Publication Designers and the American Illustrated Graphic Arts.

"... In addition to illustrating and painting for publications and advertising agencies, he has written and illustrated over 12 adult and children's books; The Little Duster, The Cat's Whiskers, Troy Street Bus, Esquire's Drinkbook, and The Computer Dictionary for Beginners.

"Bill Charmatz's paintings are in the permanent collection of Time-Life, Inc, Annenberg Triangle Collection Philadelphia, Exxon Corp. International, Playboy Inc., Chicago and The Library of Congress Portraits Division, Washington, D.C."

Here are a few of his works that I keep in a file on my desktop. His illustrations always make me smile. They are a joy to see and appreciate.