The Magnificent Meyers

There was nothing phony about Robert Meyers' illustration skills... he was simply magnificent.


Meyers did quite a few multiple image story assignments for The Saturday Evening Post during the 50's. Unlike some other illustrators who may have been pigeon-holed into illustrating one kind of subject matter or another, the Post's editors seem to have felt they could trust Meyers with any genre. His characters were always interesting, unique individuals appropriate to the story.


More importantly, Meyers was a master of strong composition. Given the opportunity to do a really involved piece like the one below, Meyers thoughtfully arranged line, colour and shape to compel the reader's eye to immediately locate the image's focal point.


I want to discuss Meyers' skill with composition in greater detail... but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

For now, enjoy studying these and some other pieces more closely in my Robert Meyers Flickr set.

* And if you haven't already done so, be sure to go to the comments section of yesterday's post to read some fascinating biographical information on Robert Meyers courtesy of Gary Temple, who co-authored a book on the artist, "Robert W. "Bob" Meyers, Artist of the South Fork."
You'll also find photos of the artist and additional details about his life and career at The Meadowlark Gallery.