A catbird appears on Arnold Skolnick’s original Woodstock poster. The white bird is perched on the neck of an acoustic guitar, with a hand gripping the instrument—an image that became one of the festival’s most recognizable symbols.
Skolnick designed the poster in 1969 after Woodstock Ventures asked him to create promotional artwork for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. He reportedly began the assignment on a Thursday and delivered the finished design the following Monday morning. His son recalled watching him cut the lettering and bird from paper while experimenting with the layout.
The image is sometimes casually described as a dove because doves are common symbols of peace, but the bird was specifically identified as a catbird. The poster’s bold red, yellow, green, and black design helped define the visual identity of the festival, which took place near Bethel, New York, from August 15 to 18, 1969. Despite the poster’s later fame, Skolnick reportedly received only one royalty check, worth about $15.