Orr, Garrett

• 1907 May 22: Born, Caro, Mich.
• 1928: Graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago; worked for several years for various newspapers and advertising agencies
• circa 1933: Joined Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI)
• circa 1938: Became an Associate Art Director, OAI
• 1957: Married Janet Brewster, then-Executive Secretary of the National Society of Art Directors
• 1958: Became President, Art Directors Club of New York, and Art Director, OAI
• 1959: Became Chairman, Art Division, Sister Elizabeth Kenney Foundation Fund, a public service campaign to fight polio
• 1965: Won a gold medal for water colors at the 25th Annual Members Exhibition of the Art Directors Club of New York, for his painting entitled Composition No. 1
• circa 1968: Retired as Art Director of OAI, to become a consultant art director
• 1988 July 4: Died, Montville, N.J.

Garrett Orr was a graphic artist and billboard designer. A director with Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI) for over 30 years (1938-1968), Orr oversaw national outdoor advertising campaigns during a period where technological advances and a developing interstate highway system stimulated rapid growth in the U.S. outdoor advertising industry. Stan H. Henderson, President of the Georgia Outdoor Advertising Company, Inc. once said of Garrett Orr, Garry probably produced more outdoor advertising art than any other man in history.

From the guide to the Garrett Orr Papers, bulk, circa 1873-1994, 1890s-1914, 1935-1965, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)