Juke Goodman, the collector of the drawings, served as Saks Fifth Avenue's art director during the 1940s and was a critic and visiting lecturer at Parsons School of Design from 1949 until 1952. New York Art Directors Club publications of the 1940s and early 1950s indicate he worked directly with many of the artists represented in his collection on print advertising for Saks merchandise.

René Robert Bouché was born in Prague, but spent much of his professional career in France. He was widely associated with French Vogue magazine, for which he contributed fashion illustrations until 1941, when he immigrated to the United States. Bouché continued contributing to American Vogue, in addition to illustrating advertisements for Saks Fifth Avenue and CBS. He was also a sought-after portraitist. René Robert Bouché died in England in 1963.

Burma Burris (also known as Burmah Hall Burris, 1910-2007) was an illustrator of humorous, cartoon-like fashion illustrations for Saks Fifth Avenue. She also illustrated children's books and taught at the High School of Art and Design in New York during the 1960s and 1970s.

Carl Erickson (1891-1958), who signed his work "Eric" was a leading fashion illustrator whose drawings appeared in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, among other publications.

Ruth Sigrid Graftstrom is most widely recognized as an illustrator for American Vogue magazine in the 1930s. She was represented by Leslie Ryecroft and Kay Hughes in the 1940s. Her work and personal history after 1950 is unknown.

Jacqueline E. Lindner was born in Germany as Elsbeth Schulein. While an art student, she met and married her first husband, Richard Lindner, who later immigrated to New York and became a prominent American artist. After the rise of National Socialism in Germany, Jacqueline Lindner moved to France where she worked as a fashion illustrator. She immigrated to the United States in 1941. During her years in the United States, she illustrated for Saks Fifth Avenue and Life magazine. She married a fellow refugee, writer Joseph Bornstein. She died by suicide in October 1952 following her husband's death in June.

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Burma Burris sources: http://www.askart.com/askart/b/burmah_burris/burmah_burris.aspx (accessed August 4, 2010) and John Steptoe Papers finding aid http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/html/research/findaids/DG1168f.html (accessed August 4, 2010)

Jacqueline Lindner sources: Guide to the papers of Joseph Bornstein (accessed August 4, 2010 http://findingaids.cjh.org/?pID=121524) and Tableau de l'homme nue by Sylvie Camet (Editions Complicités, 2005).