Who was Cipe Pineles?

Cipe Pineles (1908–91) played a key role during a time of great change and growth in the 1950s as the first female magazine art director of long standing at "Glamour" (1939–46), "Seventeen" (1947–50), "Charm" (1950–59), and "Mademoiselle" (1958–59). She went on to be influential as a freelance designer and instructor at Parsons School of Design. Pineles achieved many distinctions in the graphic arts, including her election as the first woman member of the New York Art Directors Club.

The Cipe Pineles Graphic Design Archive came to the Special Collections at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1991. The archive includes images in all media: elegant pen-and-ink letters and notes, beautiful illustrations in gouache, and striking layout designs with dynamic sketches. The Pineles Archive is the subject of a forthcoming collection guidebook, Cipe Pineles: Two Remembrances, which will be published in Spring 2005 by RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press. The symposium, “Magazines for Women: The Legacy of Cipe Pineles,” draws from the example of Cipe Pineles and her groundbreaking work, as a foundation for discussions on the current state of contemporary women’s magazines.

See work by Cipe Pineles at the AIGA Medalists website.

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