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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Lester Beall Collection
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.1278
- Creators:
-
Beall, Lester, 1903-
- Dates:
-
1933-[circa 1967]
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
1 Cubic foot1 box
- Repository:
- Container:
- 1
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the career of Lester Beall, graphic designer and commercial artist from approximately 1933-1967.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Record Groups include:
I. "Scope" Magazine
II. Modern Art 5,000 Years Ago
III. Red Cross Magazines
IV. Greeting Cards
V. Time Magazine ads
VI. Logo Designs
VII. Cone Automatic Machine Co., tear sheets
VIII. Miscellaneous Covers
IX. George Bijur, Inc.
X. Labatt's of Canada and Catch! Narragansett Ale design campaigns
XI. Exhibition, Art Center, California
XII. Abbott Laboratories, "What's New"
XIII. Marshall Field and Company
XIV. Miscellaneous Advertisements
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
American designer Lester Beall (1903-1969) was educated at Lane Technical School in Chicago and received a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Chicago. Upon discovering the work of the European avant-garde, Beall was inspired to bring American design of the 1930s and 1940s to a higher level of effective visual communication. Self-taught, Lester Beall was one of the first Americans to have his work shown in a German monthly graphics periodical, Gebrauchsgraphik, and was one of the first Americans to incorporate the New Typography, using techniques such as photomontage, collage and the use of cut-out flat colored paper in combination with photography and economical line drawing, reworking the element of European modernism into distinctive American style. He produced solutions to graphic design problems that were unique among his American contemporaries.
Beall moved from Chicago to New York in 1935 and did work that was influential to the field of editorial design. Between 1938 and 1940, he redesigned twenty magazines for McGraw Hill, in 1946 he designed two covers for Fortune and in 1944, he began designing Scope magazine for UpJohn Pharmaceuticals which he did until 1951. In 1952, Beall opened a design office on Dumbarton Farm, his home in rural Connecticut. In 1973, four years after his death, Lester Beall was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame.
Philip B. Meggs credits Beall with "almost single-handedly launching the modern movement in American design". In 1973, four years after his death, the Art Directors Club of New York belatedly elected him to its prestigious Hall of Fame. Bob Plisken, who worked for Beall in the early 1940s, said on that occasion, "In my opinion, Beall did more than anyone to make graphic design in American a distinct and respected profession".
Administration
Author
NMAH Staff
Custodial History
The collection was transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
All materials were donated to the museum by Mr. Lester Beall, Jr. in 1998.
Processing Information
Collection is unprocessed.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Lester Beall collection, 1933-circa 1967, Archives Center, National Museum of American HIstory.
More Information
Bibliographic References
Bibliographic References
Lester Beall
. Brookfield Center, Conn. : Lester Beall, Inc., [197-?].Bibliographic References
Nine Pioneers in American Graphic Design
/ Roger R. Remington and Barbara J. Hodik. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1989.Bibliographic References
Lester Beall : trailblazer of American graphic design
/ Roger R. Remington. New York : W.W. Norton, 1996.Bibliographic References
Graphic Design History
/ Steven Heller and Georgette Balance. New York : Allworth Press, 2001.Keywords
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu