Fashion illustrator Fred Greenhill was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area (different sources give 1925 and 1930 as his year of birth, but the former is more probable). Greenhill briefly studied art and French at the University of Texas in Austin after serving in the army during World War Two. In 1948, Greenhill moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design, earning a degree in costume design in 1950. Upon returning to Texas after graduation, Greenhill worked as a freelance designer before eventually finding his vocation and developing a portfolio as a fashion illustrator for local department stores. In 1953, Greenhill was offered a position at Neiman Marcus, which helped him further develop his professional portfolio.

Greenhill returned to New York City in 1957, and landed a permanent position at Saks Fifth Avenue as its primary illustrator. Greenhill’s illustrations began to appear daily in local New York newspaper advertisements, the designs becoming a standard of fashion advertisements in the 1960s. Greenhill began working for Lord & Taylor in 1974, beginning a long relationship with the department store where he created some of his most recognized work, including the “Lord & Taylor Woman” illustrations of the 1970s and 1980s, and the long-stemmed rose design that became Lord & Taylor’s trademark image, emblazoned on their shopping bags for more than a decade.

In addition to his work with Neiman Marcus, Saks and Lord & Taylor, Greenhill illustrated for the cosmetics firms Elizabeth Arden, Revlon and Estée Lauder. His illustrations were featured in advertisements that appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Baazar and The New York Times. After nearly twenty years at Lord & Taylor, and over forty years in the fashion industry, Greenhill left New York City and returned to Texas. He died in his Austin home in August, 2007.