David Stone Martin, born David Livingstone Martin (June 13, 1913 – March 6, 1992 in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
) was an American artist best known for his
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...
s on
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
record album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...
s.
[Detailed biographical information is spread throughout the boo]
White Collar Radicals
by Aaron D. Purcell, University of Tennessee Press
The University of Tennessee Press is a university press associated with the University of Tennessee.
UT Press was established in 1940 by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.
The University of Tennessee Press issues about 35 books each ...
2009.
Biography
David Stone Martin was born June 13, 1913, in Chicago and attended evening classes at the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...
. He was greatly influenced by the line art of
Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as ''The Shape of Content''.
Born Benjamin Shahn in Ka ...
. During World War II, Martin was an art director for the
United States Office of War Information
The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
.
By 1950, Martin had produced more than 100 covers for
Mercury,
Asch Asch may refer to:
People
* Asch (surname)
*''Asch.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Paul Friedrich August Ascherson (1834–1913), German botanist
Places
* the German name for the town of Aš in the Czech Republic
* Asch (Netherlands), a vi ...
,
Disc
Disc or disk may refer to:
* Disk (mathematics), a two dimensional shape, the interior of a circle
* Disk storage
* Optical disc
* Floppy disk
Music
* Disc (band), an American experimental music band
* ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby
Other ...
and
Dial record albums. Many assignments came from his longtime friend, record producer
Norman Granz
Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Gra ...
.
[
For various companies, Martin eventually created illustrations for more than 400 record albums. Many of these were simply line art combined with a single color. Martin's favorite tool was a crowquill pen which enabled him to do delicate line work. CBS-TV art director William Golden gave Martin many print ad assignments during the 1950s, and Martin soon expanded into illustration for '' Seventeen'', '']The Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'' and other slick magazines of the 1950s and 1960s.[ His studio was located in ]Roosevelt, New Jersey
Roosevelt is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 808, a decrease of 74 (−8.4%) from the 20 ...
, near his home there.[Peng, Leif. ''Today's Inspiration'', October 2008.]
/ref>
Martin is represented in the Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, the Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
and the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
Martin was the husband of muralist Thelma Martin, who painted the post office mural for the facility in Sweetwater, Tennessee
Sweetwater is a city in Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe and McMinn County, Tennessee, McMinn Counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population ...
.
Notable album covers
*''All or Nothing at All
"All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence.
Frank Sinatra recording
Frank Sinatra's August 31, 1939 recording of the song, accompanied by Harry James and his Orchestra was a huge hit in 19 ...
'', Billie Holiday, Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...
*''The Astaire Story
''The Astaire Story'' is a 1952 album by Fred Astaire. The album was conceived of and produced by Norman Granz, the founder of Clef Records (and later Verve Records), who was also responsible for the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, at which ...
'', Fred Astaire, Clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whic ...
*''Billie Holiday Sings
''Billie Holiday Sings'' (MGC-118) is a 10-inch LP album made by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released in the United States on Mercury Records in 1952 and on Clef Records in 1953. It was her first album for Clef, and her first album of origin ...
'', Clef
*'' Bird & Diz'', Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Clef
*''Buddy and Sweets
''Buddy and Sweets'' is a jazz album recorded in Los Angeles, California in September 1955 by Harry "Sweets" Edison and Buddy Rich.
Track listing
LP side A
# "Yellow Rose of Brooklyn" (Harry "Sweets" Edison) – 4:31
# "Easy Does It" (Sy Oliver ...
'', Harry "Sweets" Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backi ...
and Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...
, Norgran
*''An Evening with Billie Holiday
''An Evening with Billie Holiday'' (MG C-144) is the second 10-inch LP studio album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released by Clef Records in 1953.
In 1956, when the 10-inch format was phased out, the album was reissued by Clef with th ...
'', Clef
*''Jazz Giant
''Jazz Giant'' is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, released on Norgran in 1950, featuring two sessions that Powell recorded for Norman Granz in 1949 and 1950.
The album was remastered and re-released on CD in 2001 by Verve as a Ver ...
'', Bud Powell, Norgran
*'' Lester Young Trio'', Mercury
*''Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio
''Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio'' is a 1954 studio album by Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson's working trio of the time (featuring Ray Brown and Barney Kessel), plus drummer J. C. Heard. The music on this album was origin ...
'', Norgran
*''Love Is a Gentle Thing
''Love Is a Gentle Thing'' is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1959. It was recorded with arranger / conductors Alan Greene and Bob Corman.
''Billboard'' magazine chose ''Love Is a Gentle Thing'' as one of their "Spotlight ...
'', Harry Belafonte, RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
*'' Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington'', Clef
*'' Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess'', Verve
*'' Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell'', Norgran
*'' Piano Solos'', Bud Powell, Clef
*'' Piano Solos #2'', Bud Powell, Clef
*'' Sing and Swing with Buddy Rich'', Norgran
*'' Struggle'', Woody Guthrie, Smithsonian Folkways
*'' Swinging Brass with the Oscar Peterson Trio'', Verve
*''The Tal Farlow Album'', Tal Farlow, NorgranAllMusic: The Tal Farlow Album
/ref>
*''These Are the Blues
''These are the Blues'' is a 1963 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald featuring trumpeter Roy Eldridge and organist Wild Bill Davis. Sleeve artwork was painted by David Stone Martin. This is Fitzgerald's only example of re ...
'', Ella Fitzgerald, Verve
*'' Toshiko's Piano'', Toshiko Akiyoshi, Norgran
*''Urbanity
Urbanity () may refer to suavity, courteousness, and refinement of manner, or to urban life. It represents characteristics, personality traits, and viewpoints associated with cities and urban areas. People who can be described as having urbanity ...
'', Hank Jones, Clef
Time magazine covers
David Merrick, 25 March 1966
References
External links
*David Stone Martin album covers at:
LP Cover Lover
''Jazz at First Sight: The Art of David Stone Martin''
(July–December 2010, Jazz at Lincoln Center)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, David Stone
1913 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American illustrators
People from Roosevelt, New Jersey
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
People of the United States Office of War Information