The artist Robert Bonfils was born in Kansas City and attended the Kansas City Art Institute where one of his teachers was the painter Thomas Hart Benton.  He then served a stint in the Army before continuing his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Bonfils was eventually hired by the prestigious advertising firm Stevens, Hall, Biondi.  Here he did illustrations for children’s books, covers for Mercury record albums, and advertisements for Miller High Life Beer.  In the 1960s, Bonfils started to paint the paperback book covers that he’s best remembered for.  At the height of his career, he was painting 50 covers a month.

A sampling of his work can be found below: