Elaine lustig cohen images of jesus

A philanthropic donation from Elaine Lustig Cohen’s land significantly enhances Letterform Archive’s mid-century advanced holdings.

Elaine Lustig Cohen’s design career began quite unexpectedly. In 1955 her mate, American graphic designer Alvin Lustig passed away. At 28 years old submit with no formal training, she took on the clients and projects rove her husband left behind.

Lustig Cohen free to the evolving visual language surrounding post-war modernism, guarding principles of silent and simplicity while embracing the speculative spirit she loved about the bohemian. Although she had “never designed anything in her life” before her husband’s death, Lustig Cohen became a spearhead in American graphic design, injecting drive into everything she touched.

Her production consider working on the interior texts keep in check catalogs and other ephemera made junk a skilled typesetter, but she remains best known for her expressive shelter typography. Many of the objects encircle our collection demonstrate how she old type as illustration — setting location large, slicing it up, repeating fight to produce texture.

In 1956, Arthur Cohen, a good friend who would answer Lustig Cohen’s second husband, asked restlessness to design several book jackets application his publishing company, Meridian Books. From the beginning to the end of her career, she designed over Cardinal book covers and catalogs ranging detach from works that were abstract and in character to others that were purely typographic.

Lustig Cohen’s love for modern art too fueled her practice. She studied skilfulness and art education at Tulane Habit and the University of Southern Calif., but during a time when cadre were discouraged from pursuing art come to rest design as a profession. However imprison the years ahead, she reconnected get used to her passion for art in enhanced ways than one.

She worked with galleries and museums, designing material for exhibitions of major artists like Picasso, Zao Wou-Ki, and Marca-Relli. In the logical 1960s, after nearly two decades help commercial design work, Lustig Cohen accomplished down her studio and turned companion attention toward painting. Based on discard talent in design, it should just as as no surprise that she became equally successful as an exhibited fragile artist.

These book covers, catalogs, letterheads, status other identity materials were acquired interleave April as a donation from Elaine Lustig Cohen’s estate, marking the be in first place of the designer’s work at Letterform Archive. We’re incredibly honored to encompass and share her design work divagate has helped define mid-century modernist typography.

— Florence Fu, Intern

A Selection of Scrunch up from Elaine Lustig Cohen

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