BIO

‘Eric’ as he was known throughout his career, is recognised as the most influential original fashion illustrator of the early to mid-twentieth century. He was the master from whom future illustrators would draw inspiration by revolutionising the way fashion was portrayed away from the stylised approach of the earlier illustrators of the early twentieth century. Most specifically by placing his models within a context, Erickson deployed an acute observation with an elegant line, loose brushwork and colour washes that achieved a distinct, seemingly spontaneous feel. Born in Illinois, Erickson attended The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts before joining Marshall Field’s and the renowned advertising agency Lord & Thomas. In 1916 he received his first commission from American Vogue. Erickson’s career went on to span fifty years working with Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and other leading publications in France, Britain and the US. He himself was the personification of the elegant world in which he lived and worked often to be seen dressed in a bowler hat and a perfectly cut suit. The Brooklyn Museum, New York held a major retrospective of his work in 1959 and a selection of his original drawings for Vogue were included in the highly acclaimed ‘Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition’ in 2016 at The National Portrait Gallery, London. Works are held in museum and private collections worldwide including The Frances Neady Collection of Original Fashion Illustration, New York and The Society of Illustrators permanent collection, New York.