Flickr: Volk Clip Art Book Covers 1954-1984

The Harry Volk, Jr. Studio produced a lot of clip art during the middle of the last century. There is a tremendous collection of them on Flickr and here are just a few to peek at. 

Via Wikipedia:

"Volk Clip Art, Inc., better known as the Harry Volk Jr. Art Studio, was an advertising art studio specializing in artwork meant to be sold for commercial use in print. Using a subscription based service, designers and journalists had the option to be sent monthly booklets of free-to-use artwork to use within their own publications.^[1] With the purchase of the service (or any specific booklet) came the permission to use the artwork included for any purpose, personal or commercial.^[2] This opened the doorway for many smaller news outlets, designers, and businesses to add artwork to their print without having to hire their own illustrators. Volk booklets were available both by mail and in print shops"

 

 

Mary Blair: “Ceramic Mural” (1965)

 

From the Keeping Walt in Disney channel:

 

"Walt Disney and artist Mary Blair meet with Dr. Jules Stein and his wife Doris to create a ceramic mural that would grace the examination room entrance at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. Walt Disney suggested a mural be made, instead of a simple monetary donation. With the talent of the amazing Mary Blair, Disney artists made it happen. This 16mm educational film gives a step-by-step account of the design and construction of this unique ceramic mural." 

 

 

More:

More On Mary Blair: “Ceramic Mural” (1965)

 

Dick Buchanan's Cartoon File: Funny Vintage Magazine Gag Cartoons 1946 - 1963

Dick Buchanan, whose trove of great old gag cartoons has been featured here before, has some of what he calls his "funny ones:" sixteen magazine cartoons that were just funny to him.

Here's Dick: 

Greetings once more from Greenwich Village. As chance would have it, while cleaning up after the holidays, I found a folder marked “Funny Cartoons” stuffed under the cushions of my couch. I was skeptical, but after leafing through them I found that quite a few pretty funny at that.

Thanks to the miracle of digital technology beyond my understanding, here are some of my favorites from Funny Cartoons. 


AL JOHNS. The Saturday Evening Post February 9, 1963

HAL HUBBARD. JUDGE June, 1947 

HARRY MACE. American Magazine. March, 1951

BORIS DRUCKER. Drucker’s cartoons began appearing in major magazines in the 1940’s. Collier’s. December 14, 1946

  
JACOBSON. The Saturday Evening Post. June 14, 1947

JOHN DEMPSEY. Either you think this cartoon is funny, or you don’t.1000 Jokes Magazine, December,1956-February,1957

JOHNNY HART. Hart was a top gag cartoonist before his comic strip B.C. debuted in 1958. American Legion Magazine. July, 1958

DAVID LANGDON. Punch stalwart Langdon often contributed to American publications over the years. A clever gag from The Saturday Evening Post. 1950’s. 

AL KAUFMAN. American Legion Magazine. August,1958

GAHAN WILSON. Early Gahan Wilson at his best. Look Magazine. April 16, 1957

JOHN GALLAGHER. Colliers. January 7, 1957

VAHAN SHIRVANIAN. Shirvanian’s cartoons appeared everywhere from Highlights for Children to Playboy. American Legion Magzine. December, 1958

ALI. (ALFRED ISLER) Isler’s cartoons first appeared in the 1930’s. The Saturday Evening Post September 29,1962

GARDNER REA. Colliers. March 28, 1953

JERRY MARCUS. American Legion Magazine. November, 1958  

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.

 

 

Kickstarter Campaign: Women Laughing - A Documentary About the Women Cartoonists of The New Yorker

 

From Liza Donnelly:

 

Pictured: Liza Donnelly and Roz Chast drawing during the filming of Women Laughing, a documentary about the women cartoonists — past and present — of The New Yorker. Source for this startling statistic: Art.gov. Support women artists by joining our Kickstarter to get our film finished!

The Garden As of August 1, 2025

 

The garden as of August 1st.