Welcome to the Daddy Bread Rock Poster Collection.
This is a website devoted to showcasing the unique private rock poster art collection of the of the late William (Bill) Bostedt; also known as Daddy Bread or D. Bread. The nickname "Daddy Bread" was coined by Bill's friend's in the 60's, as they were poor college students, while Bill was making money in the big city thru his poster art; "the bread winner" - Daddy Bread.
Bill Bostedt was one of a handful of original air-brush artists whose talented work for the late Bill Graham brought a unique and lauded style of Rock Art posters that have themselves become an iconic style & sub-class within the larger culture of Rock Art. This website and legacy has been set up by his only heir and daughter, Louisa (Bostedt) Roberts, with the genuine intent of providing information about and context to this artist’s work, while also offering up a rare opportunity to explore and purchase parts of this artist’s until now, private personal collection.
The Elusive Artist: D. Bread:
William Raymond Bostedt was born in Northern California in 1945. In 1973 he attended art school and college in Southern California, but by the mid 1970's the San Francisco music and art scene was exploding with opportunity and energy and Bill left school to be a part of the phenomenon.
New to San Francisco, Bill met up with Randy Tuten who became a great friend and business partner. Randy had been creating art rock posters for a few years prior and was relatively well known in the local art rock world. Together they formed a strong partnership where Randy specialized in fonts, lettering and graphic layout, while Bill brought his gifted illustration and innovative airbrush talents, helping them succeed and forming a respected and talented team in the industry.
Both young artists were inspired by images of last century classic transportation (steamer ships, planes, trains and automobiles), Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and artists such as Mucha and Maxfield Parish. As a result, William’s art is highly stylized, and exudes a certain romantic and idealized quality. Of note, Bill was quite taken by Parish's famous gradient skies and Bill expanded upon this by executing this technically challenging look (using conventional painting methods) by drawing upon strengths of airbrushing to accomplish it.
Airburshing was, for the most part, a relatively new medium for creating art and had been most commonly used until then for car detailing and surfboards. Bill was fascinated by the resulting mix of technical articulation with abstract thought and natural art skills that airbrushing imparted him, and subsequently the approach and effect that ultimately sets Bill’s work apart from his peers, and defines the styling of the majority of his poster work.
Bill was an un-acclaimed artist whose gentle, friendly nature and genuine passion for his craft and artwork was self-evident in his produced work for all of his clients. In addition, Bill was also a loving and inspirational fatherly figure to those around him (especially his only daughter who was inspired to become an artist herself.) He left us much too early.
Sadly William died in 1998, however, his unique and brilliant art lives on through his personal collection which will forever celebrate him and define a special time in Rock Poster Art and the life of a gifted artist.
