Naiad Einsel (born Naiad Giblan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1927 - died April 3, 2016, Westport, Connecticut) and Walter Einsel (born New York, New York, October 10, 1926 - died Norwalk, Connecticut, November 15, 1998) were American artists, illustrators and graphic designers. Walter Einsel also specialized in creating kinetic sculptures.

Naiad Einsel attended Pratt Institute, graduating in 1947, and started her career as an assistant art director at Seventeen Magazine before becoming an assistant to graphic designer Paul Rand at the Weintraub Agency. Naiad then became an art director for Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). Walter Einsel, after serving in the United States Navy during World War II, attended Parsons School of Design on the G.I. Bill, and spent six months in France and Italy with his Parsons class. Walter graduated from Parsons in 1949, and taught illustration there from 1950 to 1951, before securing a position as an art director at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). In 1952, Naiad and Walter met when Walter applied unsuccessfully for a better-paying job at CBS; the couple were married in 1953.

Walter began illustrating for The New York Times in 1954, though both Walter and Naiad were to become full-time freelance artists by the 1960s. The two frequently collaborated on projects, and their similar styles allowed them to complete work on deadline for one another’s clients without a noticeable difference Their work often appeared in major publications such as Time, Life, and Cosmopolitan, in addition to The New York Times. In 1965, the couple moved with their two daughters to a Victorian farmhouse in Westport, Connecticut, and became important members of the artistic community there, where Naiad designed an award-winning quilt for the Westport bicentennial celebration in 1976, and Walter and Naiad collaborated on interior designs for a restored historic barn for the Museum of Westport History. In 1973, the Einsels designed a series of commemorative stamps for the United States Postal Service on the theme of “Progress in Electronics,” becoming the first husband and wife team to design U.S. postage. Walter designed the Merrill Lynch “bull” logo in 1974, and in 1979, the Einsels designed the AT&T Age of Information exhibit at EPCOT Center, Disney World, for which Walter built 55 mechanical figures and Naiad created poster designs. The couple were also members of the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1975 to 1983, where they taught Design in Illustration and Advanced Design in Illustration.

Walter Einsel died in 1998 at the age of 72. In 2007, the grounds of the Einsels’s house and barn studio in Westport were designated a local historic district, and the couple was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2008. Naiad Einsel published the book, Art from the Heart, in 2008, which features pictures of the various hand-crafted Valentine’s Day gifts the couple exchanged over the course of their marriage. Naiad died in 2016 at age 88.



References

“Alumni Notes.” Parsons School of Design Alumni Bulletin, XXVIII (March: 1954) 6. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050601_PSDAlum_195403.

Briggs, Nicole. “Naiad Einsel, 88, Westport Resident.” Westport-Weston Daily Voice, April 7, 2016. https://dailyvoice.com/connecticut/westport/obituaries/naiad-einsel-88-westport-resident/650936/.

Clifford, Linda, adapted by Lisa Bastoni. “Naiad and Walter Einsel.” From the introduction to Art From the Heart: XLibris, 2008. Naiadandwalter.com. Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.naiadandwalter.com/.

“Course Catalogs.” 1950-1983. Parsons School of Design Course Catalog Collection (PC.05.01.01). The New School Archives Digital Collections, New York, New York.

Einsel, Walter. “The European Summer School.” Parsons School of Design Alumni Bulletin, XIX (January: 1950) 2-3. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS050601_PSDAlum_195001.

Markowitz, Bobbi P. “The View from Westport: The Curious Case of a Cobblestone, 7-sided, 19th-Century Barn.” New York Times, January 7, 1996. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/07/nyregion/view-westport-curious-case-cobblestone-7-sided-19th-century-barn.html.

“Naiad and Walter Einsel.” Society of Illustrators. Accessed January 26, 2024. https://societyillustrators.org/award-winners/naiad-and-walter-einsel/.

Naiad and Walter Einsel papers (KA.0166.01). Unprocessed collection. New School Archives and Special Collections, New York, New York.

“Progress in Electronics: Transistors and Printed Circuit Board.” Smithsonian National Postal Museum: Art of the Stamp. Accessed February 2, 2024. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/art-of-the-stamp-the-artwork-science-and-technology/progress-in-electronics-transistors.