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If you learned to read with Dick & Jane, thrilled by the magnificent horse illustrations in the “Black Stallion”, remember Elsie the Cow, fell in love with the playful Texaco Dalmatian Pups, or know Elmer, the trademark on Elmer’s Glue, then you know of Keith Ward’s work.

Ward a renowned impressionist, was the gifted illustrator who painted those enduring images on the American consciousness. Like Norman Rockwell, Keith Ward is part of our “Americana”; illustrating for so many magazines and advertisements, such as “Boy’s Life”, “Outdoor Life”, Phillips 66, Bordon Dairy Co., U.S. Steel (and many others). For more than 50 years Keith Ward has been part of our lives.

Now noted for his impressionistic “easel” paintings of landscapes and portraits, Ward thinks illustration is a good background for the fine artist. “[Illustration] teaches you how to paint in a number of different styles and how to paint different subjects,” he noted. Ward’s work has indeed covered a great deal of subjects - from paintings of seascapes to still lifes, landscapes to Western motifs.

His latter works were more concerned with the appearance of light on objects then with detail. His mastery of structure and color relationships, his quick and vivid perception of the essence of his subject matter are the touchstones of his success. His own comment about his work, however is simple: “I have fun. There is that inner spark of excitement with each painting. I cannot imagine myself as being bored!”

Ward died in Florida on March 23, 2000.