By: Steven Heller | October 12, 2016

Norman Seaton Ives (1923-1978 ) started as a faculty member at Yale in 1952, was a professor of graphic design at the Yale School of Art in 1974, and died at age 54. He was active in book and magazine design, and in 1958 went into partnership with Sewell Stillman to publish portfolios of work by Walker Evans, Ad Reinhardt, Herbert Matter and others. He also designed two major publications by Josef Albers: Interaction of Color in 1963 and Formulation: Articulation in 1972.

He showed at the AIGA Gallery in 2007. His last major museum show was in 1977 at the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, NY. Earlier museum shows were held at the University of Kansas at Topeka, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the University of Hawaii. He was also represented in a group show, “The Art of the Poster,” at the Museum of Modern Art.

Although active under the Mid-Modernist umbrella, he was lesser known than his colleagues and peers.

This year Ives’ design and abstract art will be on view at “Constructions and Reconstructions,” a retrospective of his work. It opens Nov. 18 in the University and Bevier Galleries at the Rochester Institute of Technology, sponsored by the Vignelli Center for Design Studies. Curated by John T. Hill, a panel discussion, including design historian R. Roger Remington, on “Legacy and Influence,” will accompany the opening and reception.