A Substantial Archive of One of the 20th-Century’s Most Influential Designers, 1960s
Silver prints (94) most 8 x 10, most with Saul Bass credit stamp verso; color transparencies (27); printed “Trade ads” (23); film reels (2); and other printed material
Various sizes; most material housed in three large, custom portfolios, each embossed "Saul Bass" and "Lester Rossin Associates Inc."
$ 16,000.00
Daniel / Oliver Gallery - Saul Bass, A Substantial Archive of One of the 20th-Century’s Most Influential Designers, 1960s
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Daniel / Oliver Gallery - Saul Bass, A Substantial Archive of One of the 20th-Century’s Most Influential Designers, 1960s
A substantial and dynamic archive of photographs, color transparencies, and printed material related to one of the 20th-century’s most influential designers, Saul Bass. Personally compiled by the artist, the collection...
A substantial and dynamic archive of photographs, color transparencies, and printed material related to one of the 20th-century’s most influential designers, Saul Bass. Personally compiled by the artist, the collection showcases Bass’s brilliant, groundbreaking work in film and advertising, uniformly guided by his maxim, “symbolize and summarize.”
The collection consists of three large presentation portfolios, each embossed with “Saul Bass” and “Lester Rossin Associates” (his East Coast agent at the time), as well as loose photographs, other printed material, and two film reels.
The first portfolio contains photographs of artfully-arranged products and packages for companies such as Lawry’s, Kimberly Clark (Kleenex, Spunmist Beauty Tissues); Transparent Paper (TeePee) Nylon Stockings, Arden Ice Cream, Splendour Giftwraps, Revel Railroad, Wesson Oil, Anatole Robbins, White Magic Soap, and Parade Detergent.
These photos showcase Bass’s mastery of logo design, such as the “fanciful L” he emblem created for the Los Angeles-based Lawry Foods in 1959, and shown here on various Lawry’s products such as salad dressings, seasonings, dips, sauces, mixes and more. These photos also represent his commanding ability with package design, transforming everyday housewares into playful art objects. Some of the photos are supplemented with accompanying text, laying out the method of their creation.
The second portfolio begins with a focus on corporate logo design, offering examples of his work for the Committee of Aluminum Producers; Frank Holmes Laboratories; and the Oakbrook Terrace Shopping Center in Chicago. This is followed by five photos of the modern-looking Stephens Tru Sonic Hi Fi Line. These shots are accompanied by a page of explanatory text. This is followed by examples of his work with product display, showing more of his thoughtful arrangements of Splendour Gift Wraps, Cole beach products, and Suede, and then a number of interesting examples of models for an animal hospital, a railroad set, an unidentified exposition, and a few other unidentified buildings. Also seen are examples of his railroad cars for the aforementioned set, and a few images of textured, geometrical designs.
The end of the second portfolio and entirely of the third are devoted to his innovative poster work. These mainly take the form of “trade ads,” smaller versions of posters which appeared in film and design publications. Included are examples of his seminal, iconic designs for Otto Preminger’s “Exodus;” “Bunny Lake is Missing,” “Advise and Consent’;” and “Anatomy of a Murder;” Billy Wilder’s “One Two Three,” and “Summer Like it Hot,” and John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven.” Also included in this portfolio are accompanying illustrations Bass did for the short stories “Let Him Die;” "Stepfather;” and “Epitaph for a Heel.”
Other photographic material shows preliminary work for unrealized projects related to the 1964 World’s Fair, each with accompanying pages of explanatory text, written by Bass. One set of photos shows original model studies for the Eastman Kodak Pavilion which were designed when Bass and his colleagues were “contemplating a series of multiple theatres in addition to the conventional exhibit devices. The other shows “the preliminary studies [Bass] did for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the White House Liaison Committee, on the interior exhibits for the U. S. Pavilion at the World's Fair.” Bass writes that on this project he “met regularly with Arthur Schlessinger, Jr., August Hecksher, and William Walton. [He] also met on several occasions with the late President Kennedy for progress reviews. The final exhibit…embodies these basic concepts, but was carried out by the Cinerama Corporation.” These photos not only show models of the project, but test audiences in model, portable seats. There are also portraits of Bass at work, and other photos of the projects and products seen in the portfolios.
There are also two reels with examples of Bass’s revolutionary work with title sequences for films, as well other promotional work. According to an accompanying letter, the first reel shows the title sequences to the films "Walk on the Wild Side;" "Man With the Golden Arm; and three corporate projects "IBM Orientation;” "Olin Mathieson Presents" and "Olin Mathieson Packaging." The second reel, which requires an anamorphic lens to view, shows work from “9 Hours to Rama” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “From Here to There.”
Other printed material includes several design publications featuring Bass, as well as some material related to his award winning film “The Searching Eye.” There are also some other documents, including a bio and CV of Bass and his colleagues. One interesting aspect of the biography is that it notes “Mr. Bass has directed special sequences for major theatrical films, such as the bathtub murder scene in "PSYCHO.”Though he story-boarded the sequence, Bass made the claim that he “directed” the iconic sequence, and its authorship has long been discussed and debated.