Arthur L. Guptill

Arthur L. Guptill (1891-1956) who co-founded Watson-Guptill Publications and was co-editor of American Artist magazine, was an architect, a painter, an art director, an author, and a teacher. Born in Gorham, Maine, he graduated with a degree in architecture from Pratt Institute in 1912, and then studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A partner in Bearse & Guptill, architectural designers and illustrators, from 1919 to 1925, Mr. Guptill was a freelance specialist in design, freelance advertising artist, and advertising agency consultant from 1916 to 1937. The founder, president, and director of activities of the Amateur Artists Association of America, Mr. Guptill wrote numerous art instruction books. He taught at Pratt and the Brooklyn Museum and was a member of the Art Directors Club of New York and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in England. Susan E. Meyer was born and raised in New York City. She was graduated from the University of Wisconsin and attended the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Ms. Meyer has had a long history of involvement with Arthur Guptill’s work. For over seven years, as managing editor of Watson-Guptill Publications, the company he co-founded, she compiled and edited his books. In that capacity, she also compiled, edited, and collaborated on a number of other books on watercolorists and their techniques, painting portraits, and designing with type. In addition, Ms. Meyer was editor of American Artist magazine, where Guptill himself was once co-editor. She is the author of over a dozen books and is currently the director of Roundtable Press, Inc. in New York City.