Recently Steven Heller wrote of Glaser’s Ghosts, on how Milton’s Marcel Duchamp-inspired 1966 Bob Dylan poster has spawned myriad parodies, homages and rip offs. He earlier covered the history of the iconic image here. I also traced the origins of Glaser’s poster in a previous article. There is yet another legacy to the 50 year old poster that was included as added value in Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, and that is how the recent Nobel Prize winner’s profile is perhaps the most utilized and most recognizable in modern history:
1966
Ironically Dylan did not like Glaser’s portrait, first as the cover of a book and later as the aforementioned poster. Whether his opinion has changed over time remains to be seen but there is no question that his profile has sported several of his albums since. It has also appeared on a multitude of posters and book covers over the years, including many authorized tour posters. In addition it has been interpreted over time by other renowned illustrators, including Paul Davis, Stephen Alcorn and the late Rick Griffin.
1971
1974
1976
Paul Davis, 1974
Rick Griffin drawing commissioned by Dylan for his “Down in the Groove” album, 1988. Griffin painted the final but Dylan rejected the art.
The released cover still featured a near profile.
Book cover 1978
Book cover 1992
Book Cover 2008
Book cover 2011
Book cover 2011
Book cover 2015
Tour poster 1978
Bob Dylan meets Art Nouveau
Bob Dylan meets Beethoven
Poster by Tad Carpenter
Poster by Peter Strain
Art by Silvio Ledbetter
Tour poster by Ken Taylor, 2010
Malika Favre for The New Yorker, 2016
Poster by Stephen Alcorn, 2016
Congratulations to Dylan on his Nobel Prize and to Glaser on his lasting influence. Both are recipients of awards by President Obama: The Presidential Medal of Freedom and The National Medal of Arts, respectively.
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