Wes Wilson

Wes Wilson has always loved to draw, but he didn’t have much formal training in graphic design. After serving in the army during the Korean War, Wilson returned home to California and studied philosophy at San Francisco State College.

By 1963 he decided to drop out of college to support his wife and three young daughters. He took a job in a San Francisco print shop where he learned the basics of graphical layout and camera work. Soon he was combining his newly acquired technical skills with his powerful creative talents.

A big break came with a political poster he created entitled “Are We Next?” The politically-charged design featured a swastika superimposed over an American flag, and it caused quite a sensation around San Francisco. Eventually Wilson’s work attracted the attention of Chet Helms, a rock band promoter and prominent figure in the emerging counterculture scene.

Helms commissioned Wilson to create the posters for a series of weekend dance concerts he was producing in 1966. With his distinctive designs, Wilson set the pace and direction for many of the Family Dog artists who would follow in his footsteps. The innovative imagery he created would become iconic symbols of the era.

By the time the Seventies rolled around, Wilson had relocated his family to a quiet farm in Missouri. He continues to create paintings and occasionally designs a poster.