Herstory of Graphic Design: Elaine Lustig Cohen

The Cary Graphic Arts Collection in Rochester, New York, manages the Graphic Design Archive of the Rochester Institute of Technology which features more than 35 collections documenting the work of many 20th-century Modernist graphic designers. Among these is the work of Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927–2016), a relatively unknown designer from New York City. Upon her marriage to the well-known designer Alvin Lustig, Elaine unknowingly started out on her path as a designer. She seamlessly transitioned from office manager to artist, but it took decades for her to receive recognition for her work. In an attempt to situate Elaine Lustig Cohen and her body of work within graphic design history and to give her body of work greater attention, I researched, handled, and disseminated knowledge of her work and her collection. Specifically, I examined and organized her collection at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection and went on to co-curate an exhibition chronicling her career as part of my capstone of my undergraduate degree in museum studies. I wanted to look at this collection in relation to the bigger picture of women in design and to the relationship between the representation of women in the history of graphic design textbooks and the availability of their work in archives.