Sunday 13 September 2009

All the Art That's Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn't)

Frances Jetter

Roland Topor

Ronald Searle

Marshall Arisman

Ralph Steadman

David Levine

This should be required reading for anyone who wants to make a living as an illustrator. Jerelle Kraus was art editor of the New York Times Op-Ed page for thirteen years, and All the Art That's Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn't) recounts her time there, working with some of the best illustrators in the world - most of them, actually - and the frequent rejection or "killing" of artwork by capricious and fearful editors. Several images that were originally turned down appear for the first time, including the one of Kissinger by David Levine (above).

The quality of the artwork is way beyond almost anything in the UK press. All the more remarkable considering the Times is, in Kraus's words, "staid" and "canonical". There's quite a few more examples on Kraus's website.

No comments:

Post a Comment