Cipe Pineles was born in 1908 in Poland into a Jewish family and arrived in the USA in 1923 at the age of fifteen. She began her studies in commercial arts at the Pratt Institute in 1926 and later received a scholarship from the Tiffany Foundation for painting. Her quest for design work led her to Contempora Ltd, where she designed advertising materials, patterns for cotton fabrics, and store displays.

Her breakthrough came when she was discovered by the wife of publisher Condé Nast at a party at Contempora Ltd, who also briefly worked there. Pineles was then recommended to the Art Director M. F. Agha. Although initially not finding a place in the design team, she eventually secured a position in a corner of Agha's office, where she benefited from his discussions and honed her skills in typography, composition, photography, and magazine organization.

From 1941 to 1945, Pineles served as the Art Director of Glamour before joining her husband William Golden, whom she had helped establish in the New York design community by securing him a job with Agha for House & Garden. Together, they traveled to Paris for 5 months. Upon their return to the USA, she worked as a freelance illustrator before being appointed as the Art Director of the new magazine Seventeen.

Cipe Pineles was part of a remarkable team of women who shaped the world of magazines and graphic design in the 1940s and 1950s. Alongside editor Helen Valentine and promotions director Estelle Ellis, she formed a trio that did groundbreaking work at Seventeen and Charm magazines. Martha Scotford does however mention in her article (eye, 1995) about Pineles, that all three led privileged lives with live-in help, and supportive husbands. Scotford dubs these three friends and collaborators “proto-feminists” and honors their contribution in the very sexist time of the 1960s. For example she was denied membership in the New York Art Directors Club (despite 10 years of Agha nominating her) until they courted her husband William Golden, who refused unless they admitted her. Both were members from 1948 on (see Scotford, 1995).

After three years at Seventeen, the trio moved to Charm, where Pineles served as Art Director for nine years. She then had a brief tenure as Art Director of Mademoiselle before her husband unexpectedly passed away.

Two years later, she married her old friend, designer Will Burtin, and worked in his design studio on various projects, including the visual identity of the Lincoln Center and publications for the Parsons School of Design.

Pineles was a pioneer in American graphic design history and was inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1975, becoming its first female member. (dg/bs)