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| Milton Glaser, photographed by Sam Haskins |
26 June brought some
sad news. Milton Glaser, the graphic designer who invented the famous logo that
promoted New York City to the world, died on 26 June, his 91st
birthday.
I met Milton a couple
of times in 1996. My colleague Karin Agosta and I had chosen as our publicists
for the launch of The Dictionary of Art a duo who became good friends.
Missy McHugh had been working at Christie’s and went on to do very distinguished
work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her colleague Pete Tannen had worked in
advertising in New York and Australia, was a jazz fan and a humourist with a
very wry taste in jokes. Pete had known Milton for a long time and recommended
his studio to design our materials.
I tagged along to a
couple of meetings at which Milton presided, gave advice and then left us in
the capable hands of one of his colleagues. As soon as I shook his hand, I knew
that I was dealing with a genial wise man who really knew what made great graphic
design. New York is a complicated city, whose earthy rough edges accommodate, without
contradiction, a certain kind of humane, liberal, learned, eternally interested
in ideas, kind of person. Milton was a supreme example of that noble side of
the city.
He is, of course, not
famous for the work his studio did for Karin and me. One of his most iconic
designs is a poster he designed for CBS records in 1966 to accompany a Bob
Dylan album. Dylan was portrayed in austere black-and-white profile, but from
his head sprang a multi-coloured rainbow of hair. The image was instantly
arresting and spoke to the spirit of the 60s, just as much as did Frank Zappa
and the hippy scene in San Francisco. His other iconic design was the I ❤️New York
symbol, familiar even to those who have never been to the city.
Milton was also the
co-founder and co-publisher of New York magazine. He was also its
restaurant critic. He was literate as well as visually acute. He was also a
great supporter of graphic design education. Later, when I worked for Thames
& Hudson, many graphic design professors in the New York area told me that
he regularly gave his time to give classes in the city’s design schools.
I commented to Pete
that Milton had struck me as a gentle soul. Pete replied: “And not always that gentle, to be honest-- when he
got going on conservative politicians, he became so angry and passionate that
people turned and looked at us in restaurants!”
I am sorry that
I met him only so briefly, but those are meetings I will not forget.
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