Alvin Lustig
| Alvin Lustig | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1915 Denver, Colorado, US |
| Died | December 5, 1955 (aged 40) New York, New York, US |
| Occupation | Graphic designer, Interior designer, typographer |
| Spouse(s) | Elaine Lustig Cohen (1948-1955) |
Alvin Lustig (February 8, 1915 - December 5, 1955) was an American book designer,graphic designer and typeface designer. Lustig has been honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to American design.
He was born on February 8, 1915 to Harry Lustig and Jeanette Schamus in Denver, Colorado.
Lustig studied design at Los Angeles City College, Art Center, and independently with architect Frank Lloyd Wright at his Taliesin studio and French painter Jean Charlot. He began his career designing book jackets in 1937 in Los Angeles, California. In 1944 he became Director of Visual Research for Look Magazine. He also designed for Fortune, and Girl Scouts of the United States.
In addition to his many contributions to graphic design, Lustig was an accomplished interior and architectural designer. In 1949, he designed what has become known as the "Lustig Chair" for Paramount Furniture in Beverly Hills, CA. His original design continues to inspire modern interiors and replications of the chair are still in production.
Josef Albers invited him to teach at Black Mountain College in 1945, and at Yale in 1951.
Lustig maintained a successful professional relationship with New Directions Publishing for almost a decade, producing some of his most iconic and innovative work for the independent publishing company. He designed more than seventy dust jackets for the New Classics literary series from 1945 until his death in 1955. His abstract designs incorporated a modern design sensibility with a groundbreaking approach to typeface design and the unconventional dust jacket became a hallmark of New Directions publications. His artwork was featured on the covers of classic works of modernist literature, including the works of James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, and Ezra Pound. Several Tennessee Williams plays were published by New Directions during this period and Lustig's art was included on the first edition covers of these works, including A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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