Arnold H. Skolnick (February 25, 1937 – June 15, 2022) was an American

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

and book publisher. His best-known work is the original 1969 poster for the

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

Art and Music Fair.

1969 Woodstock poster

Skolnick's 1969 Woodstock poster showed a white

catbird Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name ''Ailuroedus'' likewise is from the Greek for 'cat-singer' or 'cat-voiced'. Australasian catbirds are ...

perched on the neck of an acoustic guitar with a hand holding it. Woodstock Ventures asked Skolnick to design a music and art fair poster. Skolnick's son Peter remembers watching his father cut the words and bird from paper. He also remembers his father trying different layouts. Skolnick was hired on a Thursday and delivered the poster the following Monday around 11 am. Although much money has been made from Skolnick's symbol, he received only one royalty check of about $15. While Skolnick won many awards, perhaps his 1969 and his 40th anniversary Woodstock posters are his most famous.

Book publishing

Skolnick next started Imago Imprint, a company that published, designed, and produced mostly art books. It was established in New York City and led to a number of published books such as ''Lightest Blues (Great Humor from the 1930s)'' and ''Paul Cadmus''. His company Chameleon Books led to many more art books such as ''The Lyrical Constructivist: Don Gummer Sculpture'', ''The Girl with the Watering Can'', ''Hyman Bloom'', and ''Times Squared'' (photographs by Toby Old). He also worked on projects with companies such as Carl Little, Pomegranate, Down East Books, Potter, Rizzoli, First Glance Books, and Chronicle Books.

Fine artist

Skolnick's drawings, paintings, and photography have been exhibited in Massachusetts at the Oxbow, Michelson & William Baczek Fine Art Galleries and in various galleries in New York City.

Death

Skolnick died on June 15, 2022. His son, Alexander Skolnick, stated that the cause of death was respiratory failure.

Gallery exhibitions

* 1976 Rolly Michaux Galleries, New York, NY * 2004 Members Group Show (Paintings), Oxbow Gallery, Northampton, MA * 2005 Earth, Water, Sky (paintings & photographs), Painter Arnold Skolnick and Photographer Robert Aller, Oxbow Gallery, Northampton, Ma * 2006 Nudes and Still Life, Paintings & Drawings, (with Robert Aller, photographer), Oxbow Gallery, Northampton, MA * 2008 Landscape Paintings & Drawings, Oxbow Gallery, Northampton, MA * 2008 Love Song: The Erotic Photographs of Arnold Skolnick, Michelson Gallery, Northampton, MA * 2008 Love Song: The Erotic Photographs of Arnold Skolnick, Babcock Galleries, New York * 2010 Antique and Artisan Center, Stamford, CT * 2011 Color and Rhythm, Paintings by Arnold Skolnick, Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth, Maine * 2014 Spinoza's God: Paintings by Arnold Skolnick, Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Falmouth, Maine * 2017 Light Touch, Nudes In White Charcoal, Elusie Gallery, Easthampton, MA * 2017 Eyes of Western Massachusetts, Colson Gallery, Eastworks, Easthampton, MA

Articles and reviews

* Hennessy, Christina, "Woodstock poster designer's paintings on exhibit in Stamford", ''

Stamford Advocate ''The Advocate'' is a seven-day daily newspaper based in Stamford, Connecticut. The paper is owned and operated by Hearst Communications, a multinational corporate media conglomerate with $4 billion in revenues. ''The Advocate'' circulates in ...

'', Friday, October 15, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skolnick, Arnold 1937 births 2022 deaths Artists from Brooklyn American book publishers (people) The High School of Music & Art alumni Pratt Institute alumni Woodstock Festival