Gustav Rehberger (1910-1995)

Around this time last year I showed you an illustration by Gustav Rehberger. Not long after that post I was thrilled to receive a note from Pamela Demme, Gustav Rehberger's widow:


"I just discovered some of my husband’s old illustrations on your site. How exciting! I just had to write and say thank you. It’s so nice to see them. The colors are absolutely stunning. I’m sorry he’s not here to know that people are taking an interest in them. He’d be so pleased."


In a second message, Pamela continued:

"It’s been my goal for the last 10 years to keep Rehberger’s name alive. I would be happy to give you any information you need. A friend and former student of my husband's collects all of Gustav’s magazine illustrations. And I still have boxes of tear sheets. It was Gustav’s habit to rip the page out of the magazine and toss out the magazine. So I have all these pages without dates and in some cases, no clue which magazine it came from. Hopefully, between the two of us, we can answer any questions you may have about his commercial work."


Not long thereafter, a thick envelope arrived filled with artwork and information about Rehberger. Pamela wrote that she had been spending many weekends at the New York Public Research Library "trying discover and document as much as I can about [Gustav's] career. I think you will be amazed at the scope of it."

And truly, I was. This week, with the benefit of Pamela Demme's help, we'll learn about the amazing career and accomplishments of an illustrator I've long admired, Gustav Rehberger.


You'll find all of today's images - plus a half dozen more - in my Gustav Rehberger Flickr set.