The Robert Galster and Gilbert Ireland papers consist primarily of Galster and Ireland’s design work from the 1950s through the 1970s. Also included is student work from their time at Parsons School of Design in the 1940s, as well as work by other designers. The collection contains only sparse material related to the personal lives of Galster and Ireland.

The bulk of the collection is illustration and design work done by Robert Galster throughout his career from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. This material represents the breadth of Galster’s professional practice, including illustrations and designs for album covers, book covers, children’s books, and theater posters. Original illustrations, mock-ups, and printed proofs are found in each area of Galster’s design practice.

The collection contains Christmas cards Galster designed from 1954-1974. These they sent to friends; some were printed and presumably sold by Bergdorf Goodman. Galster’s professional work also consists of sketches for murals and stage sets, promotional material, and fashion illustrations. The fashion work dates from the early years of his career, perhaps because he had recently graduated from Parsons, where his concentration was costume illustration.

Fashion illustration by both Galster and Ireland from their time at Parsons is found in the student work folder. This part of the collection contains student notebooks from courses including costume illustration and art history. These notebooks are a rich window into the curriculum at Parsons in the late 1940s—they include assignment instructions, completed exercises sometimes marked up by an instructor, reports, and lecture notes.

Gilbert Ireland’s professional practice is also well documented in the collection. This material consists almost entirely of photographs depicting display windows designed by Ireland for Bergdorf Goodman. Most are undated, but those that are date from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The majority of the window displays are for menswear, though there are some photographs of women’s fashion displays as well as antiques and decorations. Many of the photographs are accompanied by descriptive captions written by or for a publication called Views & Reviews, which was published by the Retail Reporting Bureau.

There is almost no documentation in the collection of the business side of either Galster or Ireland’s professional practices. The only exceptions are a small quantity of contracts for Galster’s book cover designs from 1968-1969 and a set of undated receipts for material borrowed by Ireland from Bergdorf Goodman for use in their window displays. Similarly, there is very little material in the collection that is biographical or pertains to the personal lives of Galster and Ireland. The exceptions are their diplomas from Parsons and a set of photographs of Galster and Ireland. These portraits span the decades of the 1950s thru 1970s and include two portraits of the couple together.

The small amount of biographical material found in this collection is supplemented by material by other artists, providing a window into the circle of artists and designers Galster and Ireland likely called friends. Among these artists is Lloyd Evans, who is very well represented in the collection with a number of scenery and costume designs for various operas, including an almost complete set of costume designs for the opera Francesca da Rimini, likely from the late 1960s or early 1970s. Aside from this work by Evans, there is a print of a drawing done by Andy Warhol of the yoga instructor Tom Royal, seemingly made by Royal himself in a limited edition of twenty, and a poster from a German production of the musical Hair from 1968 signed by someone, perhaps the poster’s designer. Also included are fashion illustrations by Roy Little, a designer and future Parsons faculty member who graduated the same year as Galster and Ireland. There is also work by unidentified artists, including a set of slides from a fashion photo shoot in the 1960s or 1970s.