BIO

‘One of a very few German fashion illustrators who moved with assurance in international circles’ was the description of the fashion and graphic artist Gerd Grimm in an article for Graphik magazine in 1951. Having spent the years under Nazi occupation in constant fear of capture owing to his partly Jewish heritage, Grimm preferred to take commissions over the telephone and remained largely under the radar for his entire career, although his output was prolific. Grimm is best recognised for the advertising campaigns for the German tobacco brand Ravel. He was appointed chief illustrator in the 1950s, a position that affirmed his graphic talent and one that brought an elegance to the art of smoking! With his bold yet sensitive use of colour and brushwork, Grimm naturally became one of the great fashion illustrators of his time. His work could regularly be seen in Die Frau, Die Dame and Elegante Welt in Germany and Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire Magazine in the US in both editorial and advertising work. Grimm’s sensitive use of brushstrokes created a strength and elegance that naturally places him within the category of a twentieth century master of fashion illustration.