Cocktails, La Guardia Airport 1940 by Laszlo Matulay

Laszlo Matulay was a prolific designer, illustrator, fine art painter and educator right up until his death in 1999 at age 86. Despite Matulay's wide ranging career and position as one of New York's most sought after illustrators in the mid-to late-20th century — one of the most pivotal eras in graphic design history — his name is relatively unknown today. Matulay was born in Vienna in 1912 to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father. He attended school at the Academy of Applied Arts and graduated with a degree in graphics and painting, but fled the country when the Nazis took power. He arrived in the United States in 1935 and settled in New York City. At first, he got a job washing dishes to make ends meet. He grew despondent, afraid he would never follow in his father's footsteps with a career as an artist. Then he got a job doing drawings for a souvenir company catalog — which opened up a career as a freelance illustrator and designer. In 1940, Matulay exhibited in the "New Americans" category at the 1940 World's Fair and became a highly sought after illustrator.