Peter Rogers Collection

Peter Rogers was born in 1934 and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Mr. Rogers worked in display and advertising for Fine Bros.-Matison Co., a local department store, to pay his tuition to Mississippi Southern College. He was active in campus life and a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity. After graduation in 1957, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany for two years.

When Peter returned to Hattiesburg, Milton J. Fine encouraged him to move to New York City and make use of his natural advertising talents. In 1959, Peter Rogers borrowed $500 from his sister, Merle, and moved to New York. After working 15 years at various agencies he created his own advertising company, Peter Rogers Associates in 1974. He built a successful career over 50 years as an artist in public relations and advertising, specializing in fashion and cosmetics.

The Peter Rogers Associates agency became known for positioning luxury products with simple graphics and one-liners such as “If you don’t look good, we don’t look good;” “Danskins are not just for dancing;” “Me and my Scaasi;” “Gray Flannel suits any man;” “Demanded by and created for perfectionists;” “When your own initials are enough;” and “What becomes a legend most?”

His client list included such famous names as Baccarat, Bally of Switzerland, Bill Blass, Blackglama Mink, Bulgari, Cannon Mills, Pierre Cardin, Danskin, David Webb Fine Jewelry, Echo Scarves, Elle Magazine, Geoffrey Beene, Gracious Home, Judith Lieber, La Prairie Skin Care, Arnold Scaasi, Studio 54 Jeans, Pauline Trigere, Gloria Vanderbilt, Bottega Veneta, Verdura, and Vidal Sassoon. His campaigns appeared editorially in many magazines including: Avenue, People, Time, Town & Country, New York Magazine, and Vanity Fair.

After his highly successful advertising 40 years career, Rogers closed Peter Rogers Associates in 1999. After visiting his late friend Bill Blass in New Preston, Connecticut, he fell in love with the area and purchased a home in Litchfield County and began to devote his time to a portrait painting. Peter Rogers now lives closer to his childhood home. He decided to relocate to the French Quarter, in a historic Creole cottage. The adman turned artist, paints portraits in a studio around the corner from his house in New Orleans.

He was formally inducted into the Media Communications and Journalism Hall of Fame in 2009.