Above are a few beautifully drawn illustrations from one of my favorite books as a kid, 100 Pounds of Popcorn by Hazel Krantz. (The last two illustrations are part of one, but couldn't be scanned because part of the art was printed into the spine area.) Herman's line work here is exceedingly delicate, assured and fun.
Researching Herman's work online leads me to believe he's one of the most overlooked, underappreciated illustrators of the 20th century, for he had careers in illustrating comic books, children's books, gag cartoons, product design and as a fine arts painter of Mexico. Ro Gallery says this about that: "In 1969, during the bicentennial celebration of the founding of San Diego, Herman was awarded a Medallion of Honor for his part in furthering good relations between Mexico and the United States. Recently, he has been proposed as a candidate for the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor Mexico can grant to a foreigner for promoting better cultural relations between Mexico and his country-a fitting tribute to Vic Herman's dedication and talent."
To top it all off, he created the character Little Dot for Harvey, Elsie the Cow for Borden, Reddy Kilowatt for the Electrical Industry and taught for the Boards of Education in Los Angeles and San Diego!
In addition, he an artist-field correspondent for Yank Magazine and Stars and Stripes and owned his own art production company. During WWII, the US Army assigned him cartoons for the "Don't spread rumors" campaign.
Herman's work also appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Liberty, Life, Look, Redbook, and Argosy.
Some of the companies Herman created advertising campaigns for: 7-Up, Pepsi, Borden's, Phillips 66 gasoline, General Food Post Cereals, Schick, Pabst and Blatz Beer, Pfizer Drugs, Lipton Soup and many more.
Here are examples of his gag cartoons: http://www.comicartfans.com/searchresult.asp?txtsearch=Vic%20Herman
Examples of his painting: http://rogallery.com/herman_vic/hermanvhm.htm
Examples of his comic book at the Lambiek Comiclopedia: http://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/herman_vic.htm
Below: storyboards for a Pep commercial.
1 comment:
I own that original art you have pictured. It's the art from a magazine ad. It most likely appeared in Life magazine.
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