Don Rubbo
Encyclopedia
Don Rubbo was a mentor and guide of such renowned creative talents as Peter Max
and an affiliate of Andy Warhol
in the mid-1960s. His philosophy of ‘life is art, art is life,’ inspired and influenced many of his students.
After the war, he settled in New York City, and in 1952 he married Maria Fontanes. They had seven children, Edmund, Linda, Donald, Robert, George, Thomas and Diana. Don and Maria divorced in 1967, and he married Cathy Palermo in 1970, and they had one child, Michael.
, Peter Max
. They named it The Daly & Max Studio. Although his name was not on the business, Don Rubbo played a major part and the three worked as a group on books and advertising; Don Rubbo was known at the ampersand in Daly & Max. In 1963, Daly, Max and Rubbo did the illustration, design and color for Helga Sandburg's (the daughter of poet Carl Sandburg
) children's book Joel and the Wild Goose.
In the mid sixties, Don Rubbo was hired by Dr. Robert Jastrow
, founder of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies
, to draw maps for NASA. At the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he became good friends with George Goodstadt, who later went on to found Bank Street Atelier, a lithography printing studio, and George Goodstadt, Inc.
At the advertising giant, Diener, Hauser & Greenthal, Don Rubbo was the creative force behind the iconic images for movie posters, designing the images for The Godfather
,( 1972), The Endless Summer
(1968), Clockwork Orange (1971), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
(1968), among others.
Don Rubbo designed the distinctive font for Dove
soap, which is still used today in their advertising.
In 1967 Don Rubbo shared a studio with Max Menikoff, designing ads and package design. The studio was located in midtown Manhattan, on the east side. In the fall of 1967 Don Rubbo accepted twelve students from the High School of Art and Design in an apprenticeship program. According to one of the students, Fred Gerlach (F. August Gerlach), when the group showed up at the studio for their first meeting, Don Rubbo said, “Hello, what a motley crew. Let me introduce myself, they call me big balls Rubbo because I have a lot of tough nuts to crack in my life.”
In 1968, Don Rubbo moved his family into 365 Canal Street
, the former Canal Street Lumber Company building, and with the help of his students and children he ripped out the lumber racks and built one of the earliest artist’s lofts in New York City's SoHo
district. It became the center of life for many artists and creative spirits as well as some down-on-their luck acquaintances. Don Rubbo presided over the large kitchen table, and fed everyone who walked in the door.
He filled this huge space with his multi-media sculptures, some of which were large Styrofoam structures that he and his students and children carved, coated with clear acrylic and then painted with colors that seemed to breathe and pulsate under changing lights, creating the illusion of ‘living art.’
Don and his son Donald Rubbo planted one of the first community gardens in Manhattan’s Lower West Side, in the weed-filled sidewalk plot next to the former Mead Paper site at Canal and Varrick Streets.
On the brick wall of the building, Don Rubbo, created a ‘String painting’, a spiderweb shape of string upon which morning glories grew up along the spiderweb design.
In 1973 Don Rubbo moved to San Juan
, Puerto Rico
, for two years, and taught many young Puerto Rican artists, at the Centro Nacional de las Artes ( National Arts Center ) in old San Juan. The Centro was housed in an old building that the Franciscan priests had made available to artists to use as studios, and was run by Carlos Irizarry.
Don Rubbo’s students included Alex Chin (deceased), F. August Gerlach (Fred Gerlach), Carlos Suenos, Peter Gaztimbide and Dennis Mario Rivera. Ceferino Diaz-Ruiz; Ely Barreto, Maritza Davila, Gloria Florit.
Don Rubbo suffered from heart disease, and he had his first heart attack in 1968. Another heart attack in 1969 limited his ability to work from then on, and he underwent open heart surgery in 1973. He never fully recovered his health, and he died in January 1979.
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
and an affiliate of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
in the mid-1960s. His philosophy of ‘life is art, art is life,’ inspired and influenced many of his students.
Early life and family
Don Rubbo enlisted in the army in February, 1945, at the age of eighteen and received three medals for his service to his country.After the war, he settled in New York City, and in 1952 he married Maria Fontanes. They had seven children, Edmund, Linda, Donald, Robert, George, Thomas and Diana. Don and Maria divorced in 1967, and he married Cathy Palermo in 1970, and they had one child, Michael.
"Art is life, life is Art"
In 1962 Don Rubbo started a small Manhattan arts studio with friend Tom Daly and Daly’s friend from the Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
. They named it The Daly & Max Studio. Although his name was not on the business, Don Rubbo played a major part and the three worked as a group on books and advertising; Don Rubbo was known at the ampersand in Daly & Max. In 1963, Daly, Max and Rubbo did the illustration, design and color for Helga Sandburg's (the daughter of poet Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
) children's book Joel and the Wild Goose.
In the mid sixties, Don Rubbo was hired by Dr. Robert Jastrow
Robert Jastrow
Robert Jastrow was an American astronomer, physicist and cosmologist. He was a leading NASA scientist, populist author and futurist.- Biography :...
, founder of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Goddard Institute for Space Studies
The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies , at Columbia University in New York City, is a component laboratory of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Earth-Sun Exploration Division and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University...
, to draw maps for NASA. At the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he became good friends with George Goodstadt, who later went on to found Bank Street Atelier, a lithography printing studio, and George Goodstadt, Inc.
At the advertising giant, Diener, Hauser & Greenthal, Don Rubbo was the creative force behind the iconic images for movie posters, designing the images for The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
,( 1972), The Endless Summer
The Endless Summer
The Endless Summer is a 1966 film in the surf movie genre.Director Bruce Brown follows two surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, on a surf trip around the world. Despite the balmy climate of their native California, cold ocean currents make local beaches inhospitable during the winter...
(1968), Clockwork Orange (1971), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
(1968), among others.
Don Rubbo designed the distinctive font for Dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
soap, which is still used today in their advertising.
In 1967 Don Rubbo shared a studio with Max Menikoff, designing ads and package design. The studio was located in midtown Manhattan, on the east side. In the fall of 1967 Don Rubbo accepted twelve students from the High School of Art and Design in an apprenticeship program. According to one of the students, Fred Gerlach (F. August Gerlach), when the group showed up at the studio for their first meeting, Don Rubbo said, “Hello, what a motley crew. Let me introduce myself, they call me big balls Rubbo because I have a lot of tough nuts to crack in my life.”
In 1968, Don Rubbo moved his family into 365 Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
, the former Canal Street Lumber Company building, and with the help of his students and children he ripped out the lumber racks and built one of the earliest artist’s lofts in New York City's SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
district. It became the center of life for many artists and creative spirits as well as some down-on-their luck acquaintances. Don Rubbo presided over the large kitchen table, and fed everyone who walked in the door.
He filled this huge space with his multi-media sculptures, some of which were large Styrofoam structures that he and his students and children carved, coated with clear acrylic and then painted with colors that seemed to breathe and pulsate under changing lights, creating the illusion of ‘living art.’
Don and his son Donald Rubbo planted one of the first community gardens in Manhattan’s Lower West Side, in the weed-filled sidewalk plot next to the former Mead Paper site at Canal and Varrick Streets.
On the brick wall of the building, Don Rubbo, created a ‘String painting’, a spiderweb shape of string upon which morning glories grew up along the spiderweb design.
In 1973 Don Rubbo moved to San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, for two years, and taught many young Puerto Rican artists, at the Centro Nacional de las Artes ( National Arts Center ) in old San Juan. The Centro was housed in an old building that the Franciscan priests had made available to artists to use as studios, and was run by Carlos Irizarry.
Don Rubbo’s students included Alex Chin (deceased), F. August Gerlach (Fred Gerlach), Carlos Suenos, Peter Gaztimbide and Dennis Mario Rivera. Ceferino Diaz-Ruiz; Ely Barreto, Maritza Davila, Gloria Florit.
Don Rubbo suffered from heart disease, and he had his first heart attack in 1968. Another heart attack in 1969 limited his ability to work from then on, and he underwent open heart surgery in 1973. He never fully recovered his health, and he died in January 1979.