Brand Holland

Born: 1943 Fremont Ohio

Education: Self Taught

At age 20 the artist was hired by Hallmark in Kansas City to illustrate books as a staff artist. Among the books he would illustrate for Hallmark was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. At age 23, Holland moved to New York City to pursue a career as a full-time freelance illustrator.

The two significant milestones in Holland\'s early career were becoming a regular contributor to Playboy starting in 1967 and in 1970 establishing himself as a frequent contributor to The New York Times Op-Ed Page.

While the use of visual metaphor is now taken for granted in the world of illustration, when Holland entered the field this was not the case. It was the accepted standard of the time that art directors dictated or inferred what they wanted an illustrator to create as a finished assignment. When Holland entered the illustration field, his philosophy was entirely different than what his predecessors had accepted as common practice. He vowed to never render anyone else\'s idea but rather always find a better, more personal solution to any illustration assignment he might accept.

Awards: Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, 2005; Society of Illustrators Hamilton King Award, 1991; 25 Gold Medals from Society of Illustrators

website: http://www.bradholland.net/

Brad Holland History of American Illustration