Joel Iskowitz

Joel Iskowitz
Joel Iskowitz, 2010, in his studio.
Born	(1946-08-15) August 15, 1946 (age 71) The Bronx, New York
Nationality	American
Education	BFA, Hunter College, 1968
Known for	Illustration: philatelic, numismatic
Website	Creativeshake

Joel Iskowitz (born August 15, 1946) is an American designer, book illustrator, print artist and stamp, coin and medal designer. From an initial interest in medical illustration, this graphic artist has branched to other fields. He specializes in highly realistic art resulting from extensive research to make his designs as accurate as possible. His philatelic (stamp) designs, he once said, "must be super accurate and well documented, for if you get so much as an animal's tuft of fur out of place on a philatelic design you will hear from someone critical of your design." Among his coin designs are the reverse of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial penny (3rd of 4: Professional Life in Illinois), 2008 Arizona State Quarter, 2009 District of Columbia Quarter, and the upcoming 2016 Nancy Reagan First Spouse Gold Coin. In 2011 he was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame. A major address on his career as a designer of commemorative coins and medals, at the Museum of American Finance in October 2015, was aired on C-SPAN.

Iskowitz graduated from New York's High School of Music and Art in 1964. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Hunter College in 1968, and attended a summer session on a scholarship at Yale his junior year. He enrolled in several other fine arts courses, but found the instructors were more interested in abstract art rather than the traditional, realistic art he wanted to pursue. He eventually took a teaching course, allowing him to teach in New York City schools as a substitute teacher in math and art from 1970 to 1977.

After a year on the West Coast as a portrait artist in San Francisco, he returned to New York City to work in the music industry designing album covers. He found illustration work submitting freelance line drawings which were visual reviews of new albums to the rock music publication, Changes. This led to book and cover illustrations for young adult and romance books; though highly realistic, he called these historical romances "glorified Hollywood clinch scenes."

The research necessary to create believable period pieces helped prepare him for the exacting reference needed for his future philatelic and numismatic (coins and medals) works. He was exposed to etching and engraving while enrolled at Hunter College in 1964-1968, studying under Richard Claude Ziemann for whom he later served as an apprentice. This experience in printmaking was formative in developing his "gravure" style which he has used in many of his stamp and coin designs.