Assembly Resolution No. 953

BY: M. of A. Cahill

CELEBRATING the life and accomplishments of Milton
Glaser, and commending him posthumously for his
outstanding contributions to the field of design,
advertising, aesthetics and civic engagement

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
citizens of the State of New York whose work and civic endeavors served
to enhance the quality of life in their communities and the great State
of New York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend Milton Glaser for his outstanding contributions to the field of
design, advertising, aesthetics and civic engagement; and

WHEREAS, Milton Glaser was born on June 26, 1929, in the South Bronx
of New York City to parents Eleanor Bergman, a homemaker, and Eugene
Glaser, a tailor and dry-cleaner, both Jewish immigrants from Hungary;
and

WHEREAS, Demonstrating at an early age an interest for artistry and
motif, Milton Glaser graduated from the High School of Art & Music in
Hamilton Heights in 1947, and attended college at the Cooper Union for
the Advancement of Science and Art in the East Village of Manhattan from
which he graduated in 1951; and

WHEREAS, Milton Glaser furthered his educational pursuit of
aesthetics and was granted a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 1952,
allowing him to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts located in Bologna,
Italy; and

WHEREAS, Upon returning from his studies in Italy, Milton Glaser met
Shirley Girton, who succeeded him at the design firm he worked at before
going abroad; Shirley and Milton would marry in 1957 and collaborate on
several children's books throughout the years including the short story
What if Apples Have Teeth? which was published in 1960; and

WHEREAS, Milton Glaser joined his old classmates Seymour Chwast and
Edward Sorel in 1954 and founded Push Pin Studios, a revolutionary art
house that rejected the conventional design dogma of advertising
agencies of the period; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing the wealth of talent and knowledge Milton
Glaser possessed, The School of Visual Arts offered him a faculty
position in 1961, where he would educate generations of designers for
over 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Taken by the thriving artistic communities and compelling
landscapes of Ulster County, Milton and Shirley Glaser settled in
Woodstock, New York, in 1962, where he became an active participant in
town life, gifting his talents to create posters for the Maverick
Concerts, holding free lectures, donating several pieces to be auctioned

and, along with his wife, ultimately introducing lifelong friend Bob
Dylan to the town where he lived during his formative years; and

WHEREAS, Milton Glaser shifted to the forefront of American album
design for artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Eric Clapton and Willie
Nelson to John Cage and innumerable classical musical recordings, with
his seminal publication of the album poster for Bob Dylan's Greatest
Hits in 1966, which draws influence from the introspection of Marcel
Duchamp's 1958 painting Self-Portrait in Profile and features a
silhouette of Dylan with hair of fluid, rainbow colors, appealing to
changing artistic and consumer tastes and the design of the debut album
by The Band, Music from the Big Pink featuring original art by Milton
Glaser; and

WHEREAS, Desiring creative and journalistic independence, Milton
Glaser and Esquire editor Clay Felker founded New York in 1968, a
magazine dedicated to New York City life and culture - of which Milton
served as the Director and President from its founding to 1977, and also
founded his own studio, Milton Glaser Incorporated in 1974; and

WHEREAS, As part of a campaign for the New York State Department of
Commerce in 1977, Milton Glaser created the famous I Love New York
design, which remains one of the most internationally recognizable
advertising campaigns, the simple typeface and heart symbol logo
enduring as a prominent representation of the State; and

WHEREAS, Following the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, Milton
Glaser created a modified version of I Love New York titled I Love New
York More Than Ever, a variation on his classic design featuring a
scorched but still living heart, made to exemplify the perseverance and
unification of all New Yorkers; and

WHEREAS, The illustrations of Milton Glaser have been featured on
several major literary and musical works as of the Twentieth Century, as
well as various advertisement campaigns for numerous state agencies
promoting tourism; and

WHEREAS, The work of Milton Glaser has been featured in several
prestigious art institutions, including the National Archive of the
Smithsonian Institute, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Centre
Georges Pompidou, the Israel Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, which
houses the original I Love New York concept sketch in a permanent
collection; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of his multi-decade career and contribution
to the field of design, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, and in 2009,
President Barack Obama granted Milton Glaser the National Medal of the
Arts, making him the first in the field of graphic design to be
celebrated with this achievement; and

WHEREAS, Milton and Shirley Glaser contributed for decades to the
vibrancy of the "Woodstock Arts Movement" through their beneficence,
community activism and by creating, without charge, designs and logos
for numerous local public arts events; and

WHEREAS, His final piece, Together, made from varying shades and
lines was designed to unify us in a time of intense division, isolation

and separation; it was the belief of Milton that graphic design did not
solely exist to drive mass consumption but could be used to bring
different groups of people together and to challenge the status quo; and

WHEREAS, On Friday, June 26, 2020, Milton Glaser passed away on his
91st birthday, a revolutionary in the field of aesthetics and design,
his work and spirit leaving a mark on this world, touching and
brightening the lives of millions of people; and

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to publicly
recognize those who have contributed extensively to the cultural and
artistic achievements of this great Empire State and Nation; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
celebrate the life and accomplishments of Milton Glaser, a man who
defined aesthetic in modern life and reimagined graphic design as a fine
art; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the family of Milton Glaser.