Psychedelic Illustrators of the 60s and 70s – Robert Wesly Wilson (1937-2020)

Artist Robert Wesley Wilson, who is generally recognized as the father of the 1960s rock concert poster, was one of the best-known designers of psychedelic posters.

Wes Wilson was an American artist and one of the leading designers of this era. He is best known for designing posters for a person named Bill Graham of The Fillmore in San Francisco, he invented a style that is now synonymous with the peace movement the psychedelic movement in the 1960s. In particular, he was known for inventing and popularizing a “psychedelic” font around 1966 that made the letters look like they were moving or melting.

His style was heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. Wilson was considered to be one of ”The Big Five” San Francisco poster artists, along with Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, and Stanley Mouse. Today his posters are converted among collectors, bringing hundreds or thousands of dollars. He experimented with fonts and colours to make it seems as though the letters were themselves moving.