Jay Maisel

Jay Maisel (January 18, 1931 – August 23, 2026) was an American photographer.

His awards include the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography.

Life and career Maisel was born in Brooklyn, New York City on January 18, 1931, He studied painting and graphic design at Manhattan's Cooper Union and at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and became a photographer in 1954.

One of Maisel's most notable images is his photograph of Miles Davis that appears on the cover of Davis's album Kind of Blue (1959). In 2009, Andy Baio commissioned an image based on the original Kind of Blue album cover for the cover of a chiptune tribute album titled Kind of Bloop. Attorneys representing Maisel demanded damages and that the resulting image be removed from the chiptune album, resulting in an out-of-court settlement of $32,500 from Baio. It cost $300,000 annually to maintain, including heat and taxes. In February 2015, the building was sold for $55 million to developer Aby Rosen. A 2019 film, Jay Myself, documents Maisel's life and his move from the building.

Jay Maisel died on August 24, 2026, at the age of 95.

Awards Art Directors Club Hall of Fame