Illustrator, sculptor, comics artist, animator Robert Grossman has had an astounding career spanning the last 60 years. To say he's the greatest airbrush artist/caricaturist of all time isn't hyperbole, it's an understatement. Picking just a few samples from his incredible body of work is a near impossible task (he's created over 500 magazine covers alone!), but I'm presenting some of my favorites. If anyone deserves to have a career retrospective/anthology it's Bob Grossman. Check out these beautifully rendered, consistently brilliant and memorable illustrations, most chosen from the 60's-80's. As Steven Heller wrote: "his mordant wit is never duplicated".
Bob has continued turning out wonderful drawings and comic strips regularly for, among others, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic and the NY Observer where I was been proud to have alternated with him, Victor Juhasz and Philip Burke as a regular cover artist for 20 years (1994-2014).
Robert Grossman passed away in his sleep in March 2018 at age 78.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/robert-grossman-illustrator-who-caricatured-presidents-and-designed-airplane-poster-dies-at-78/2018/03/20/19b8209c-2c4c-11e8-8ad6-fbc50284fce8_story.html?
utm_term=.faf9f9cbce98
my thanks to Stephen Kroninger, John Wendler, Peter Kuper, Steven Heller, Jim Engel & Ed Edo Dennis
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| Robert Grossman was the editor of The Yale Record, and created this parody cover of The New Yorker  magazine   |
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| First cover for TIME: Curtis LeMay/George Wallace/1968 |
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| From EYE magazine/1967 http://drewfriedman.blogspot.com/2011/05/rock-pile.html |
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LBJ channels "Punch" |
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| Mick Jagger |
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Ronald Reagan/Rodant          |
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| various drawings for The Realist... |
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| Tricia Nixon |
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| Sammy Davis, Jr/Richard Nixon |
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| early seventies NBC TV stars |
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| From the Beatles Illustrated Lyrics book Back in the USSR |
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Joe Namath    |
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William Burroughs     |
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| George McGovern/Richard Nixon |
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Richard Nixon/Charles Colson |
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Nixon & Kennedy |
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| Dick Clark |
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| J. Edgar Hoover |
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| Jimmy Connors |
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| Bobby Riggs |
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Joe Frazier    |
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Co-author of "Candy" Mason Hoffenberg   |
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| Jerry Garcia |
http://drewfriedman.blogspot.com/2011/11/robert-grossman-mad-covers.html
John Denver
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| John Entwistle & Ringo Starr |
Gerald Ford
Ford and Kissinger
at the NY Democratic convention, 1976 (New York mag)
Jimmy Carter
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| Jimmy Carter/Gerald Ford |
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| Carter/Brezhnev |
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Jimmy Carter    |
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Children's Book Cover |
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| Joe Paterno |
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| Clark Gable |
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| Marlene Dietrich |
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Laurel & Hardy |
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| Various Grossman ads... |
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| Earl Scruggs |
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| Julia Child |
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| unused poster art for "The Wanderers" |
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Steven Spielberg/ET |
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George Burns |
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Jerry Brown    |
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| agent Sue Mengers |
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Cary Grant
John Lee Hooker
 
Elvis button
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| Barbra Striesand |
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Sigmund Freud on the Tonight Show   |
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poster art by Bob Grossman |
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| cover art for Donald Westlake novel |
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Ed Koch |
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Jackie Gleason/Art Carney |
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Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart   |
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Monica Lewinsky |
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George W. Bush  |
What a posting. What a remarkable career of killer images. Bob's one of the great ones. His Kissinger as Jiminy Crickett is iconic. Thanks for the effort putting this together, Drew.
ReplyDeleteBob's sculptings are gorgeous portraits. Peter Kaplan has a fantastic Reagan.
ReplyDeleteWow - what a wonderful look at Grossman's oeuvre Drew! Grew up with (especially his Lampoon covers) & always admired his plasticine likenesses. Seemingly 3D without the glasses...
ReplyDeleteRichly comprehensive job you've done here too...no one could ever accuse you of stinginess when it comes to posting on an artist ;-)
Bob was Peter Bergman's roommate at Yale, which is how he ended up doing som uch Firesign Theatre-related artwork over the years. I'm Firesign's archivist, and recently I emailed Bob some snapshots art I collected from his stint at "Los Angeles Times: West" magazine:
ReplyDelete1968-06-02 “Her Son the Vulcan” (Leonard Nimoy) http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6399.JPG
1968-08-04 “Florida’s Kirk: Ready for the G.O.P.” http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6398.JPG
1968-12-15 “California is a fadist state” http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6397.JPG
1969-11-16 “Ol Bob Finch” http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6395.JPG
1972-01-23 “You Know I Can’t Hear You When The Jets Are Flying” http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6393.JPG
1972-07-23 Alexis Smith http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6391.JPG
1972-10-08 “The Last Marx Brothers Movie” http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DSCN6390.JPG
And of course here's Bob's amazing illustration for the back of the recent, massive Firesign radio show book/DVD-ROM compilation "Duke of Madness Motors": http://www.footnoteconspiracy.com/grossmanpics/DOMM_book_reverse_Grossman_pic.jpg
Wow, this blog is great. What a fantastic tribute. Thanks for doing this blog, D. F. I'm a big fan.
ReplyDelete- Michael
What an exhaustive collection of images. I'm exhausted just looking at them! And to think this is just the tip of the iceberg. Nice job, Robert and Drew!
ReplyDeletewould anybody be interested in buy an Laurel & Hardy Charcoal sketch dated 4-81 by Robert Grossman? if so please email me at nmn4eva@yahoo.com i will send picture
ReplyDeleteI've always loved Grossman's work. He was an early influence. His comic strip in New York Magazine (wish I could remember the name) was one I loved and found fascinating. And his airbrush skill was incomprehensible to me. Still is, kinda. Thanks for posting these. Not sure how I didn't already know he'd done the Airplane poster. Iconic.
ReplyDeleteVia the FB page of Mr. Victor Juhasz, I find this fantastic series of caricatures. Couldn't pick a favorite if I had to. Really fun and tasty art all the way. Great to see all of those Rolling Stone covers again. I think I received all of them in the mail as a very long time subscriber and it was a treat to see every one then and now! Thanks for providing these images.
ReplyDeleteCool stuff saved a bunch of him his Nudes were awesome =)
ReplyDeleteBob (with his younger brother David) also created several great Claymation tv spots for Carrier air conditioners in the early ‘80’s - off to YouTube now, in hope of finding them lurking there...
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