Tattoos Celebrity 2012

He's sketched Gloria Swanson, romped on the beach with Shirley Booth, and was nearly kicked out of Celeste Holm's dressing room. He photographed Dovima and Sunny Harnett, was teenaged friends with Anne St. Marie (the mink-swathed, martini-sipping lady who presides over SSUWAT), and created the iconic "black cat" campaign for Lanvin's My Sin perfume.

His name is Merle Bassett, and we're thrilled to count him among SSUWAT's friends and readers. Merle's life and career have been extraordinary; after studying at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, his career as a fashion illustrator began in 1948, at the famed Neiman-Marcus in Dallas. It was there that he came face-to-face (and sketch-to-sketch) with Gloria Swanson, who was making an appearance at Neiman's to promote both Sunset Blvd., and "the Travelure," a hat she had designed. The ad for the Travelure featured a drawing of Miss Swanson by Merle; she was taken to meet the artist, and proceeded to not only autograph his drawing, but also sketch a caricature of herself.

Merle's work for Neiman-Marcus defined his, as well as the company's, image for the decade: elegant, sophisticated, yet subtly youthful and modern. He was all of twenty four when he decided to make it on his own as a freelance artist -- and Merle already had such prestigious, high-profile work on his resume as his tenure with Neiman's, the My Sin ad, and layouts in national magazines.

It was an exciting, heady time in fashion and commercial drawing; by the end of the following decade, photography would almost completely overtake both the fashion and advertising spheres, but for a golden moment, artists like Merle and his friend and contemporary, Jack Potter, were taking time-honored techniques and traditions, while infusing their work with a new vitality. Potter, for instance, was only 30 years old in 1957, when he was commissioned to create a then-shocking, quite avant-garde campaign for Coca-Cola, which until then had employed a very folksy, Norman Rockwell-esque approach to their branding.

Jack Potter for Coca-Cola, 1957

Jack Potter illustration

Merle Bassett ad for Korrigan-Lesur, circa 1959

After a marvelous career, Merle is retired in California, but still creating and expressing himself, now through watercolors and digital photography. As he told us, "My 43 year career consisted of artwork done to please others...these were done to please only me!"

Besides being talented, we can also report that Merle is entertaining, engaging, and -- as evidenced by one of the postcards he's made up for fun -- has a wicked sense of humor that fits right in around these parts.

We can't adequately express how thrilled we were to be contacted by Mr. Bassett, and how delighted we are that we can share just a sampling of his life and work here on SSUWAT. He has done us a great honor, and it's our sincere wish that he will be pleased by our small tribute. Like your famous Lanvin cat, Merle, we hope you grace us with nine lives!