BETHEL – Arnold Skolnick, the graphic artist and designer of the iconic Woodstock Music Festival poster that attracted nearly half a million people to Max Yasgur’s Farm in the Summer of 1969, passed away on June 15 at a hospice in Amherst, Massachusetts at the age of 85.

Skolnick, born in 1937, passed away due to vascular dementia and a heart condition that led to acute respiratory failure.

Looking back at his last-minute contribution to the historic event, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts remembers the artist who created the lasting symbol that persists in recognizing the ground zero of peace and love.

“We [Bethel Woods Center for the Arts] are greatly saddened by the news of the passing of Arnold Skolnick. His vision and creativity has left an indelible mark on history, and continues to influence people today,” said Senior Museum Curator Dr. Neal Hitch.

“His work is so widespread because it supersedes design and represents an ideal. Very few artists have managed to capture the essence of a movement on one sheet of paper better than Arnold Skolnick.”

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts was built on the grounds of the original site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival, which ran from August 15 to the 17. Since its breaking ground in 2004, the venue and museum at Bethel Woods have welcomed many artists, guests, and events that keep the spirit that Skolnick illustrated in his poster vibrant and alive.

Earlier this year, the Museum at Bethel Woods reopened and introduced a brand new Special Exhibit called ‘& Art Fair: Art and Design at Woodstock’, which focuses on a collection of various visual art and original Woodstock artifacts. Among those that hang on the walls is the famous red poster designed by Skolnick.

This collection also includes a poster that was created by another individual, which was rejected by Woodstock organizers due to its featuring a nude woman and lack of space for performing artists' names. Woodstock organizers then turned to Skolnick, who then, in a last-minute effort, designed the poster that immortalized the three days of peace in music in the late 60’s.

“I was sitting there drawing this cat bird the whole weekend…which is much more interesting looking than a dove…and so when I came up with the idea Three Days of Peace and Music, [I thought] how do you produce it?” Skolnick told the Museum at Bethel Woods in 2011.

“And I was thinking about Matisse [a 20th c. French visual artist] and a show that Matisse had done. I said why don't I just cut it out, cut paper the way Matisse does and kept thinking about this catbird. So it's actually a catbird, not a dove...and I cut the whole thing up, taped it. Monday morning brought it in to the Woodstock people…It was the first job I ever did with no changes! And so l put it together and…sort of the rest is history.”

The image of the white catbird resting on the guitar can be found at the Bethel Woods Center for the Art’s grounds and around the surrounding area, proving its iconic symbolism remains relevant even after all the years, concerts, and events that continue to happen at the ground zero of peace and love.

Skolnick’s marriages to Iris Jay and Cynthia Meyer ended in divorce, however he is survived by his two sons Alex and Peter Skolnick, two grandchildren and a sister.

“The identity of this place, Bethel Woods, has so much to do visually because of Arnold's poster design that they decided to keep,” said original 1969 Woodstock festival attendee and Bethel Woods volunteer Glenn Wooddell. “That has just been an invaluable contribution to the success of what we now call Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and all that it represents.”