Storm Thorgerson

(British, 1944–2013)

Storm Thorgerson was a British graphic designer responsible for some of the most evocative album covers ever made, including Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy (1973). Thorgerson cited the Surrealist paintings of René Magritte as a major influence in generating his photography and collage. Born on February 28, 1944 in Potters Bar, United Kingdom, he received his BA in philosophy and English from Leicester University in 1966, and later attended the Royal College of Art where he receive his MA in television and film production in 1969. In the decades that followed, Thorgerson would work with a number of musical artists on their album art, including Black Sabbath, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, The Cranberries, and Phish. The artist suffered a stroke in 2003 which left him partially paralyzed, though he continued to produce designs up until his death on April 18, 2013 in London, United Kingdom