Stanley Meltzoff (March 27, 1917 - November 9, 2006) was an Americanpainter most known for hismarine paintings.[1]
Born in New York City to father Nathan, acantor at aManhattansynagogue, Stanley Meltzoff graduated from theCity College of New York and became an instructor atPratt Institute. Serving inItaly duringWorld War II, he was an artist and journalist for the U.S. military magazineStars and Stripes. He also created visuals forPuptent Poets, apaperback of soldiers' verse.
Returning to New York City after the war, he spent years alternating between teaching and art before becoming a full-time illustrator in 1949.[2]
During the 1950s, Meltzoff created dozens of paperback covers for novels byRobert Heinlein and others, and did artwork for Madison Avenue advertising agencies. He painted covers and interior spreads for magazines includingLife,National Geographic,The Saturday Evening Post, andThe Atlantic, providing covers toScientific American.
With the advent of low-cost color photography and reproduction in the early 1960s, Meltzoff began painting saltwater game fish in their undersea environments. His marine-life art ran in such magazines asSports Illustrated,Field and Stream,Gray's Sporting Journal,Outdoor Life,Sporting Classics,Sports Afield, andWildlife Art.
Perhaps his most famous artwork is the cover for the 1976Bell System directory, commemorating both theUnited States Bicentennial and the centennial of the invention of thetelephone. Based onNorman Rockwell'sThe Gossips, Meltzoff depicts America's great historical and iconic figures using the telephone. It became the biggest selling directory in the company's history.[3]
Meltzoff's art hangs inThe National Gallery and theGetty Museum.
Meltzoff was a member of theSociety of Animal Artists.[4]
Meltzoff died in 2006 at age 89.
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