George Him was a Polish born British designer responsible for a number of notable posters, book illustrations and advertising campaigns for a wide range of clients.
11 Facts About George Him
2.
Him was born Jerzy Himmelfarb in 1900 to a Polish-Jewish family in Lodz, Poland which was then occupied by the Russian Empire After schooling and further education in Warsaw Him studied Roman Law in Moscow but left in 1917 when the Russian Revolution forced the closure of the university he was attending.
3.
George Him moved to Bonn and by 1924 had completed a PhD at the University of Bonn on the comparative history of religions before deciding to study graphic art in Leipzig.
4.
George Him studied at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Art but even before he graduated in 1928 was already undertaking commercial commissions.
5.
George Him returned to Poland where, in 1933, he changed his name and established a design partnership with Jan Le Witt.
6.
George Him was naturalised as a British citizen in 1948 and the Lewitt-George Him partnership enjoyed great success.
7.
The Lewitt-George Him partnership was dissolved in 1954, when Le Witt decided to focus on developing his abstract paintings and artworks.
8.
George Him continued to illustrate books but designed exhibition stands, such as the Australia stand at the 1960 Ideal Home Exhibition and large window displays, notably for the De Bijenkorf store in Rotterdam and the 1961 Christmas windows for the Design Centre in London.
9.
From 1969 until 1977, George Him taught graphic design at Leicester Polytechnic.
10.
George Him was an active artist up until the very end of his life.
11.
In 1977 George Him was awarded the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award and in 1978 became a Royal Designer for Industry.