A lot of illustrators worked on Pall Mall's long series of ads designed around this black, white and red theme; Stan Klimley and Paul C. Burns among them. But my favourites have always been done by an illustrator whom I think was named Mal Murley.
I can't explain exactly why Murley's monochromatic paintings appeal so much more than others - there's just something really "rock-solid" about them. As pieces of commercial art I find them to be absolutely flawless.
Beyond that unusual name, the artist has left no clues about the course of his career... More often than not, when you find a signature on a piece of advertising art from the 50's, you'll likely see that name again as a credit line on story illustrations in the same magazines. But not only have I never come across a Murley editorial piece, I've never seen his name on any other ad art. Could he have been an in-house illustrator at Pall Mall?
Perhaps one day we'll find the answer. Currently, there's no biography of the artist to be found. For the time being we'll just have to "Reward Ourselves" by admiring the Mal Murley pieces in my Smoking Flickr set.
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