Foster & Kleiser was an American advertising company founded in 1901 that grew into the "west coast's leading billboard company".[1][2] Among its notable employees was Maynard Dixon who credited his five years spent as a billboard painter at the company with helping prepare him as a muralist.[3] Another notable employee was Maurice Del Mue.[4] In the 1970s, many of the iconic billboards advertising new rock acts on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip were hand-painted by Foster & Kleiser artists, who worked from a "space the size of an airplane hangar".[5]
In 1952 Foster & Kleiser was purchased by W. R. Grace and Company.[6] Beginning in the 1980s, it would go through a number of name changes, sales, and acquisitions, becoming or being acquired by Metromedia, Patrick Media Group, Ackerley Group, and Eller Media.[7] In 1997, Eller Media was acquired by Clear Channel Outdoor.[1]
References
- Alexis Gerard. Going Visual: Using Images to Enhance Productivity, Decision-Making and Profits John Wiley & Sons, 2005^
- Christopher Finch. Chuck Close: Life Prestel Verlag, 2012^
- Donald Hagerty. The Life of Maynard Dixon Gibbs Smith, 2010^
- Marin County Artist Dies After Long Illness Daily Independent Journal, January 25, 1955, retrieved July 3, 2020^
- Claire O'Neill. A Brief History Of L.A.'s Billboard Art NPR, December 3, 2012, retrieved June 22, 2018^
- Grace Co., Buys Foster, Kleiser San Mateo Times, 17 October 1952, retrieved June 22, 2018^
- International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 9 St. James Press, 1994^