Patching a Tire

Howard Scott was a billboard designer who created campaigns for Esso gasoline, Schlitz beer, Nash automobiles and Heinz ketchup. He was an admirer of Norman Rockwell. Scott’s billboards usually had a clever tagline with a likable, Rockwell like homespun character against a plain background. He sought a simple composition in his work, as his message had to come across at a glance to people driving by at high speed. In addition to billboards, he also painted posters and magazine covers. This artwork for “The Saturday Evening Post” is characteristic of Scott’s style and simple composition. He had a preference for gouache because it was more direct and it dried faster, an advantage for tight advertising deadlines. Scott’s work always had a gag and he was known to have said “Give them a nimble-witted one-act play convincingly characterized with complete realism if you want to stop the crowds on Main Street.”