The first comprehensive book on the life and work of celebrated artist Stanley Meltzoff has finally gone to print. Stanley Meltzoff - Picture Maker was nearly done when Meltzoff passed away in 2006 and the project was put aside. However, angler and award-winning author Mike Rivkin has now brought the work to fruition with his own lively narrative alongside Stanley's most memorable paintings, and the artist’s own discussion of his life in art. A deluxe limited edition is scheduled for release in the fall and will include an original poster and vintage catalogue.

Advanced collectors of game fish art will have no trouble recalling Meltzoff's breathtaking pictures. He was the first artist to paint all the major game species in their natural underwater settings, and no one before or since has come close to surpassing his technique. Born in Brooklyn in 1917, Stanley received a classical education in the arts before joining The Stars and Stripes newspaper in Italy as a war correspondent. After five years in Europe, he returned to teaching at prestigious Pratt Institute in New York and later became one of the premier commercial artists in the country. Meltzoff pictures have graced the covers of Field and Stream, Saturday Evening Post, Scientific American, The Atlantic and many other publications. His work also adorned pulp and science fiction book covers, annual reports, major international ad campaigns, and the iconic 1976 AT&T bicentennial phone book of which more than 176 million were distributed.

In 1960, Stanley completed a groundbreaking series on striped bass for Sports Illustrated that served to establish an entirely new genre with himself firmly at the apex. As a pioneering SCUBA diver, he dove every ocean and spent thousands of hours observing his subjects. During a hugely productive four-decade career, Meltzoff renderings of billfish, tuna, tarpon, and many other species came to define the category for countless enthusiasts and earned the awestruck admiration of his peers. Frequently decorated by the American Society of Illustrators and other groups, his death at age 89 stilled a brush that may never be equaled.

Stanley Meltzoff - Picture Maker (190 Pages) is available through J. Russell Jinishian Gallery at a pre-publication price of $89. Contact us to order now at sportingartnews@gmail.com.