The beautiful drawings of Dugald Stermer

“…anything that is conceived of as beautiful will be in harmony with the laws of nature” - from “Grammar of Ornament” by Owen Jones

Dugald Stermer was a revolutionary, which is why his art is so surprising. He was accomplished and gifted as an Editorial Art Director, including his infamous covers for Ramparts magazine in the 1960s and 1970s.

Then, he reinvented himself as a remarkable illustrator. His medium was pencil on paper. He created beautiful pencil renderings, delicate, studied, which were in stark contrast to the hard edge design work he had done up to that time. His subject matter included nature, animals, food, anatomy, and flowers.

As photo documentation shows, he had a beautiful oriental rug in the center of his white office space, upon which stood his grand desk and chair. This is where he sat and created his art. It was a beautiful space, in the middle of the neighborhood where he served for thirty years on the board of the infamous Delancey Street Foundation, a nonprofit that serves the homeless, ex-cons, and those in recovery from addiction.

Designer, Art Director, Illustrator, Educator. He left our world too soon.

Website
dugaldstermer.com

Clients include
New York Times, Esquire, Time, Rolling Stone, Utne Reader, Washington Post, New Yorker

Timeline
Graduate of UCLA where he majored in the Arts
1950s, graphic designer, Richard Kuhn & Associates
1964-1970, Ramparts Art Director
1970s started his illustration career
1989 started teaching at California College of the Arts
1994 became Chair of the Illustration program at California College of the Arts
d. December 2, 2011

Quote
"Picked up a pencil and, more or less, taught myself to draw. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since – teaching myself to draw." - from an interview with Steven Heller