Monday,  December 22,  2014

Two designs for Wrigley by Otis Shepard, the first is a 1930s matchbook done in a style verging on the surreal, the second a chewing gum box announcing the return of the brand after its absence during WWII. More Wrigley and more Shep in Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Thursday,  December 18,  2014

Several rare original drawings by Otis Shepard. From top, a 1930s whimsical sketch; a caricature of the writer G.K. Chesterton; a card for Shep’s son, Gordon (and the only piece of original airbrush art by Shep that we’ve found); miscellaneous late 1950s body language and billboard studies. Note that none of these drawings are included in our ode to Shep, Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Monday,  December 15,  2014

Three ultra rare sketches for Wrigley’s billboards by Otis Shepard. Note how Otis finds his forms in pencil, carefully reducing faces into planes  and shapes. And of course a great finished late 1930s Double Mint billboard by Shep.


Thursday,  December 11,  2014

The famous All American Girls Baseball League from 1943. Uniform and logo design by Otis Shepard. More designs in the epic tome Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Tuesday,  December 9,  2014

Dorothy Shepard’s glorious hand-painted 1930s mural for the Catalina Island Casino’s Marine Bar. Her trademark abstracted tropical fish appear in full effect here. So much more in our book: Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Thursday,  December 4,  2014

The rarest of the rare: The concept sketch for this classic 1939 Wrigley’s billboard by the great Otis Shepard, inventor of the Doublemint Twins - is one of only four surviving sketches done for his commercial work. More here: Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Monday,  December 1,  2014

Three unpublished Pabst billboards by the great Dorothy Shepard, pioneering female graphic designer. Note the flat Dubonnet-like characters, expert gas pipe lettering, and over-all composition. So much more in Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.


Monday,  November 24,  2014

In 1943-44 Otis Shepard took on a commission for the US Navy, completing the above billboard, an enormous installation in Chicago’s Union Station, and numerous portraits of enlisted men, such as the one above. More details in our book, Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.