David Stone Martin

David Stone Martin (1913–1992), born David Livingstone Martin, was an influential American artist best known for his illustrations on jazz record albums.

He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and was greatly influenced by the line art of Ben Shahn. By 1950, Martin had produced more than 100 covers for Mercury, Disc and Dial record albums. Many assignments came from his long time friend, record producer Norman Granz.

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 and other slick magazines of the 1950s and 1960s.

His studio was located in Roosevelt, New Jersey. He is represented in the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian Institution.

David Stone Martin died in 1992.
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David Stone Martin Jazz Art Exhibit Opens

Jazz at Lincoln Center exhibits work of pioneer in jazz album cover art

By Lee Mergner

Earlier this month, Jazz at Lincoln Center kicked off Jazz at First Sight: The Art of David Stone Martin, an exhibit of the work of an artist who illustrated the covers of many jazz albums of the 40s and 50s. Strongly influenced by painter Ben Shahn, Martin’s simple but evocative line drawings became emblematic of the jazz record cover, thanks to his work with the Verve, Mercury and Dial labels. Over the course of his career, he illustrated over 400 record albums. Martin died in 1992, but his work continues to fascinate young artists and illustrators, many of whom pay homage to his iconic combination of basic lines and one color.

This exhibit is curated by Robert G. O’Meally, C. Daniel Dawson, Diedra Harris-Kelley and Linda Florio (designer), with Tad Hershorn of the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, serving as special curatorial advisor.

Complete on  >>  http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/26338-david-stone-martin-jazz-art-exhibit-opens