Great Illustrations - A Quarter Each

Its amazing what you can still buy for 25 cents. A half-century-old record with a great illustration on the cover, for instance.

Artist Neil Boyle (1931- ) was previously unknown to me, but I quickly found three albums illustrated by him in various local Goodwill stores and second-hand shops. Turns out that the Society of Illustrators (LA) has heard of Boyle, though... he received a Life-Time Achievment Award from them - among his many other honours, according to Walt Reed's "Illustrator in America".



Lee Youngman Galleries, just one of seventeen galleries that represent Boyle's work, offers this biography:

"Neil Boyle, of Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada, first studied at Banff School of Fine Arts. He continued his studies at Chouinard and Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles. He is a successful illustrator, having done work for many major publications and corporations such as The Ford Motor Company, Rand Corporation, Reader's Digest and Cosmopolitan. Four of his works were chosen by the U.S. Postal Service for the commemorative Bicentennial stamp series, "Contributors to the Cause", and over forty of his works have been chosen for the U.S. Air Force historical exhibits in the Smithsonian and the Pentagon and Traveling Show.

Neil Boyle has taught at Chouinard Institute, Art Center School of Design, California State University Long Beach, and California State University, Northridge.a partial list of Boyle collectors include ABC Television, Atlantic Richfield, Chrysler Corporation, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Ford Motor Company, Franklin Mint, Gardner Ranch in Santa Barbara, Golden West Broadcasting, Good Housekeeping, IBM, La Costa Spa, Ladies Home Journal, Melissa Manchester, NASA, Saturday Evening Post, Willie Shoemaker, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios, Capital Records, and RCA.His recent awards include an "Award of Excellence" from the Oil Painters of America, Alan Wylie award from the Federation of Canadian Artists' Faces & Figures, third place in the figurative Painting in the California Art Club's Gold Medal Show, and Artists' Choice Award at the Southwest Art in the Wine Country Show."

You can find a few examples of Boyle's more recent work at their site.