Lance Hidy

Biography

A native of Portland, Oregon, Lance Hidy began his formal art education in 1964 at Yale University's Jonathon Edwards College. There he demonstrated his interest in graphic arts with the design and printing of two books (one with Hidy's own illustrations) using the college's printing press. After graduation, Hidy received a grant to study with Leonard Baskin, an artist with similar interests in engraving and typographic design, who was teaching at Smith College.
In May of 1969, Hidy joined the Godine Press in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he worked in a variety of roles, including designer and pressman. From there he moved to New Hampshire to work at the Coos County Democrat, then owned by the respected printer Roderick Stinehour. In 1974, Hidy went into business as a free-lance designer. One of his most noted book designs was for Ansel Adams's Yosemite and the Range of Light.
Hidy designed his first poster in 1977. His work is distinguished by his use of flat, solid colors and expressiveness with minimal detail.
Therese Thau Heyman Posters American Style (New York and Washington, D.C.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with the National Museum of American Art, 1998)