Janet Halverson

This incredible collection corresponds to an exhibition and catalogue at Katherine Small Gallery in Somerville MA from October 2023, curated by Michael Russem.

from the Gallery:
“Janet Halverson ran with all the big mid-century designers. Her work got plenty of attention, but she, unfortunately, did not. She designed covers and jackets for books written by some of the most important authors of the twentieth century. That and the fact that those covers and jackets are highly regarded by contemporary designers of covers and jacket is, more or less, all that is known about her.”

learn more here:
https://ksmallgallery.com/blogs/exhibits/janet-halverson-an-introduction

From Katherine Small Gallery newsletter, posted 05.30.24:

Janet Halverson: The Update
All the News

No doubt you’ll recall our show about graphic designer Janet Halverson and the fact that she was a mystery to us. As the show came to a close, the Orange County Register ran a story about Janet and the show—and it was syndicated in some eighty papers. To be honest, we didn’t think anything would come of it. But then a few weeks later we got an email from Janet’s niece—who lives, like, thirteen miles from here. She and her husband came in and we had a nice visit. Here’s a little of what we learned:

1 Janet died in New York of Alzheimer’s in 2018. There was no obituary.

2 She was wicked smart, skipping several grades—which explains how she graduated from RISD at 19.

3 Could be a total charmer—although she disliked small children. Very quick with a quip.

4 Janet had two significant partners. One’s name was not recalled but he was half-Japanese. The other partner, Gerhard Hersh (Hirsch?), was a German Jew whose family was killed by Nazis. He was older than Janet and was called Uncle Jerry by the nieces and nephews. They never married as Janet didn’t care about such things. 

5 Had a the second casting of a Dimitri Hadzi sculpture. A Rockefeller had the first casting.

6 Her niece once told Janet that she (the niece) was good at spotting Janet’s books in stores, but sometimes grabbed Paul Bacon’s work thinking it was Janet’s. Janet replied that Paul Bacon was a good designer to be mistaken for.

7 She hated her cover for The Thornbirds and resented that the publisher insisted on a naturalistic illustration. She said she never wanted to see the book again. 

8 Janet was 5' 11" and had short hair.

9 None of her materials or books survive.