Digest This: Stan Galli Illos from RDCB

Today we're looking at some fantastic illustrations by Stan Galli, from a 1965 edition of Reader's Digest Condensed Books.



Stan Galli was one of the most renowned west coast illustrators of the mid-20th century.



For those of us who care about such details, Galli is often spoken of in tandem with Fred Ludekens and Bruce Bomberger.





This trio of west coast artists seem to have burst on the east coast scene in magazine illustration at about the same time. In fact, early in their careers, they were all friends and studio mates at the Patterson & Hall advertising art studio in San Francisco.









Today Stan Galli is often remembered by fans of his work for his involvement with the long-running Weyerhaeuser Co. ad series, which helped established his credentials as a wildlife artist.





But as this RDCB series demonstrates, Galli was a tremendously versatile illustrator.







A few years ago when I was corresponding with Galli's son Tom, he told me, "If there was anything to describe dad's success I would have to say his incredible ability to obseve and learn from it. Not just looking at everything but most importantly seeing what he looked at."







If you're interested in reading more about the artist as recounted by Tom Galli, you'll find that post at this link:

Stan Galli Remembered

* Many thanks to Reader's Digest Creative Director, Robert Newman for linking this week's posts to the Reader's Digest art Tumblr page! Robert has been posting some classics from the back covers of Reader's Digest from those days on the RD tumblr page. Be sure to go take a look!